The culmination of Jelly Roll's massive run the past couple of years comes to a head when his new album comes out this friday. Now, he ramps up the anticipation for its release by unveiling the lengthy list of songs and features on it.
Recently, Jelly Roll takes to all his social media with an announcement. There, he reveals his hefty 22 song track list for his upcoming album Beautifully Broken. It releases this friday, October 11th on all streaming platforms. On the album, he features his good friend MGK, singer and songwriter Ilsey, and rapper Wiz Khalifa, along with nineteen other solo records. By the looks of things, I can't say I'm super excited to listen.
This Jelly Roll Album Looks Rough on Paper
In my time covering Jelly Roll, I've never once been that interested in what kind of music he makes. He seems like a great guy. You can search his name on our site and see why everyone loves him. He seems like a great husband, he warmly documents his weight loss journey, generously donates to children, becomes a SHERIFF. I would want to get a beer with this guy. The musician? It hardly even registers in my mind. Eventually, I make the jump to listen to the music though.
My biggest takeaway? Jelly Roll might need to switch to audiobooks. I know his biggest skill is his storytelling, it's something he remains proud of everyday. Typically, I love a great writer and how that bleeds into the art. Moreover, I should love his raw howling he does on the songs. However, it all sounds very cheap. Where I look for the blues, I hear very synthetic, plastic country with no soul to it. His words will never hold the weight it truly could if the music itself sounds so flimsy.
Additionally, I'm never going to love it when Jelly Roll tries to nod to his rap origins. Upon my research, I didn't love any of those songs either. I'm largely allergic to white guys rapping outside of a very select few. To see him try to weld those origins into country music and adding post prime Wiz Khalifa to the mix, it's discouraging.
