A nickname can stick so well that it replaces your real name. Call him Jason DeFord, and rapper and Country artist Jelly Roll wouldn't flinch. In a recent sit down with veteran rocker Jon Bon Jovi, Jelly revealed the origins of his famous moniker... and that he doesn't answer to his given name.
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As one might imagine, the Antioch, Tennessee native went from Jason DeFord to Jelly Roll due to a particular woman from his childhood.
"My mother," Jelly told Bon Jovi in Interview magazine when asked who gave him his famous nickname.
"I was a little chubby kid that loved jelly donuts, and she didn't know the difference between a jelly roll and a donut," he explained. "I only found out the difference later in life, because I had to google it."
The "Son of a Sinner" hitmaker admits that the moniker did him no favors with internet search results early in his career. "I had to fight that [damn] pastry for real estate on Google for 15 years," he quipped.
"But she called me Jelly Roll," he continued. "I always say the difference between a nickname and a stage name is you don't get to give yourself your nickname. Because if I was a stripper and got to give myself a stripper name, I'd give myself something really cool, like Zeus. But it didn't work that way, so I got stuck with Jelly Roll."
Jelly Roll Wasn't Always Thrilled with His Nickname
Of course, the artist wasn't always thrilled with the nickname he'd been saddled with.
"Like every other nickname, you can imagine, through high school I about halfway hated it. But it just stuck," he recalled. "
However, now Jelly Roll can't imagine going by any other name.
"Now it's so funny, if somebody says, "Jason," I don't look," he admitted. "My mother still calls me her little Jelly. I walk in her house and she'll go, "Is that my little Jelly?" I'm six-two and almost 40," he pointed out through guffaws.
Meanwhile, Jelly Roll tweaks his nickname origin story in a new ad campaign for Dunkin'.
An overjoyed Jelly Roll enjoys his namesake in a new ad from Dunkin'. (Image via Instagram / Dunkin')
In the promo, timed with June 7th's National Donut Day, the artist formerly known as Jason Bradley DeFord addresses a common question: How did he get the name Jelly Roll?
"Believe it or not, truth is, it's because of these little guys right here," the grinning rapper says as he picks up a jelly roll out of a box of Dunkin' Donuts. "Growing up, doughnuts were truly my kryptonite. My mama used to tell me all the time I was so sweet, I could open up my own Dunkin'."
Jelly then gleefully takes a bite out of his namesake. We're going to assume this required multiple takes.
Jelly flaunts his top doughnut-dunking moves, featuring the "Bunnie Dunk" in honor of his wife and the fierce "Nash Smash" inspired by his Nashville roots. He even shares a doughnut bite with his dog, Bussie.
The ad punches out with the rapper gushing, "Life's better with a little Jelly in it, baby."
Words to live by, Jason.
