This isn't "I Heart Podcast.
Guarantee human. I'm Amanda Knox, and in the new podcast "Doubt," the case of Lucy Letvey, we unpack the story of an unimaginable tragedy that gripped the UK in 2023.
But what if we didn't get the whole story? - Address has been made to fist. - The moment you look at the whole picture, the case collapsed. - What if the truth was disguised by a story
we chose to believe? - Oh my God, I think she might be innocent. Listen to "Doubt," the case of Lucy Letvey, on the "I Heart Radio App," Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- Hi, it's Jill interesting, host of the spirit-daughter podcast, where we talk about astrology, natal charts, and how to step into your most vibrant life. And today, I'm talking with my dear friend, Crister Williams.
“- It can change you in the best way possible,”
dance with the change, dance with the breakdowns, the embodiment of Pisces intuition, with Capricorn power moves. - So I'm like delusionally proud of my chart. - Listen to the spirit-daughter podcast,
starting on February 24th, on the "I Heart Radio App," Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. - Music saved me. - I believe music's therapeutic.
I've always said what I call what I do
with therapeutic music. And I think music is probably the closest thing to therapy I got until I was in my 30s. It was the closest thing to a healing thing I could do. - Music, I thought was meant to always say it this way.
Some music's meant to be heard and some music's meant to be felt. And when I was young, I got hyper-focused on the feeling of music, and how music made people feel,
and how constant, present, it always wasn't our lives. - This podcast is called Music Saved Me, and on each episode, we'll look at a musician. We'll delve into their story, their deep connection to music.
We'll talk with their fans, every day people with their own story to tell, about how music has saved them and challenging times. I'm Lynn Hoffman, you're host for the Music Saved Me Podcast.
Today, we are so lucky to have one of music's fastest rising stars on music saved me. His music defies categorization, running the gambit from rap to rock, but his big brick has come from the country music world.
He was born and bred in Nashville, and his name is Jelly Roll. - Jelly Roll, welcome to the show. Tell everyone who you are, and how music has saved you. - Well, you know, my name's Jelly Roll.
I'm Jason D. Ford of Nashville, Tennessee. Music saved me two or three times over.
The first time I seen music have a real impact
at all was in my household. None of us played music, but everybody loved music, and music was the language of the house. So every bedroom would Blair different music,
and my mother who struggled with drugs, and struggled with a lot of mental health stuff. She didn't leave her room very much, but when she would she would come down to the kitchen and she would play records,
and the whole house would just flock to the kitchen, all six, seven of us, you know?
“And I just remember that's the only time”
we've seen her in a different light. You know, one of them, but I kind of, one of the few times we've seen her at all, but I just remember how impactful the music was and how much it meant back then, you know?
And I think that was the beginning of music starting to save my life. - Now, do you believe music has sort of super natural healing powers, you know, for mental physical or maybe even emotional problems?
- I believe music's therapeutic.
I've always said, and what I call what I do
is therapeutic music, and I think music is probably the closest thing to therapy. I got until I was in my 30s. It was the closest thing to a healing thing I could do, and music I thought was meant to always say it this way.
Some music's meant to be heard, and some music's meant to be felt. And when I was young, I got hyper focused on the feeling of music, and how music made people feel, and how constant, present it always wasn't our lives.
- Okay, describe to me how it feels when you know that your music is really impacting a fan. - I would think that I would hope my mission statement from my music is to hope that it helps in some sort of way.
That's how I got in the music, right? I wanted music to help people the way it helped my mother. I wanted to be a vessel of helping people
“the way I watch music, help the people around me so much, you know?”
And I just wanted to write songs for the people that I feel like nobody writes songs for, you know? And I lived in a certain culture, drugs. There were a lot of drugs. There was a lot of addiction, a lot of alcoholism,
a lot of poverty, a lot of real middle class, just kind of check to check stuff. And I feel like nobody was really writing songs for those people, my people, how are people? - All right, I'm gonna quote you now.
You've said, and I quote, "I make music for people, not money."
Can you please elaborate on that?
- Yeah, well, the first, the biggest joke I make is if I was making music for money, I quit 20 years ago. You know, I sure didn't get it until two years ago. So I had an intimate time to quit. To me, music was purpose.
And as long as my music's doing something for somebody, I'll always make it. And even then, I'll probably still make it
because my music's always done something for me.
My intention from day one was to try to help people the way the music helped me. - That is such a beautiful sentiment. What is it about music that gives people hope? Do you think?
“- I think music vocalizes what we often cannot.”
And there's also a thing where music makes us, it's a comforting thing. It's a moment of not feeling alone, right? - Yeah. - When Adele said they said time is supposed to heal you,
but I ain't done much healing in the song, hello. I still get goosebumps on my legs just saying that lyric. - I have goosebumps hearing you say that lyric. - You know, it's these moments of that music just feels all over you.
I mean, I literally get goosebumps on my arm just thinking about lyrics. - It really is incredible. It's physical, the reaction. Now this is something really amazing.
You've paid respects to families in person who have family members who have passed away in a tragic death. What is that experience like for you? - It's a double ed sword, you know,
I'm very, I'm an empath, so I feel the pain of people and that weighs on me at times, but it's also a blessing 'cause God put me in a situation to bring a little bit of light to really dark situations.
And I feel like that's a great responsibility to the God's giving me and I take it real serious. And I'll never complain. The joke I make about the music business period is,
I'll never, I got every problem I ever prayed for.
You know, and I love it. - So expand on this for me how music fused with religion, why it's such a powerful combination. - Yeah, I think it's hopeful, right? - Absolutely.
- So I think that one, I think music personally, music allows me an opportunity to speak about my faith in a way that's more open and honest than I probably could in a building that was labeled some sort of a denominational thing.
“So I think that music has a healing power all by itself”
and when you let God in it, it's undeniable, right? When anytime you let the spirit get into the music and there's a lot of people who believe that even in the Christian faith that the Holy Spirit was music driven, which is why in the early days
and Southern Baptist churches, the Holy Spirit would come on when the music and the hands start to clap and that's when people would receive the spirit. - What do you feel that people really need to understand? Those of us who live in the real world
about those who are serving time and prison? - I think the biggest thing they need to understand is that those people need help. I think that we get so caught up on discipline and the idea of discipline that we have somewhere
along the way forgot the idea of rehabilitation. You know, in these people in jail, they need voices, they need encouragement. I think that's a reason that's ironically to go back to the Bible.
Jesus' commands were so simple. Love your neighbor, go visit people in jail, feed the poor. Like even that far back in time, there was an understanding of that people in jail needed to be loved.
You know what I mean? - Yeah. - So I just try to carry that message to people today as go to the places people are. It's real easy to go to a function and donate money
and that helps a lot, you know, it does. But I would encourage people to go in there and talk to some of these guys and make a presence. - We live today in such a divided world. How can music minimize that dividedness?
Is that even a word? - I tell you this, man. Music brings everybody together.
It always has and it always will.
Music is like dinner. It's like a supper table thing, right? It's what brings everybody around. It's a, I have seen hard core conservatives and hard core Democrats,
crying in each other's arms and concerts. - Wow. - You know, it just, it's a pain in international language
“and I think music speaks to pain more than it does anything”
at least my particular music. And when you're going through something like that and life, you start to realize
How much that other shit don't matter.
You know, and it's just a real clear understanding
“and I think music brings that to a surface level with people.”
And it goes back to the common bond theory, you know what I mean? It's my brother's a big U.T. Valls fan and your U.T. Valls fan. That's all you need to know about you, at least initially like you.
You know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? You got to foot in the door just being a Valls fan alone. - Totally get what you're saying. - So it's like, I think it's cool
when you see cultures connect through music. Like whenever I see a guy that I don't think would be a dead head and he's a dead head and it just tickles me pink. - I know, I love it. - You want to make 'cause I'm like,
"Prayly!" and he's like, "Dude, I went to the Chicago "Dead and Company" show, "Dead or Dead" last year, "Dead or Dead" and you know, it's like, "It's awesome, man." Music does it.
Think of how many times we find those moments, right?
We're just like, "Oh my God, I would have never guessed
"you were a fish fan." That's so cool, you know what I mean? - Never judge a book by its cover. - What would you say would be your proudest accomplishment
“in music or what your most proud of that your music has done?”
- I think the thing I'm the most proud of is believing that my music is helping people, believing that the music helps. And the music can always be there to help. I think it's something else I'm proud of is that I'm proud
that I was lucky enough to come in the streaming era where the music will live there for infinity. You know what I mean? And that I love that I'm alive during this streaming era and I don't have to go rebuy the Bob Seagre
and the Bullet Band silver Bullet Band album for the 30th time because I've scratched the other 29 or lost on switching cars. You know, I'm glad that I can just go listen to beautiful looser whenever I want to, you know?
- That is so true, you can take it with you everywhere now. You don't have to worry about anything. Let's hear from Jelly Rolls fans. Certainly has a lot of them. Jelly Roll seems to be able to hit a lot of different
emotional places. And I think that he speaks to the common person, thankfully he's as an artist has really come forward and gone upward, but I think people recognize that he puts his heart into it
and he says what he needs to say. And he's real, he's genuine. For me personally, I think it's a great collaboration of a couple of different kinds of music and it can reach touches different kinds of music
that I've liked through the years. Everything that he's been through holds so many stigmas in the public eye and opening up in music is a great way for so many different audiences and people to connect together
and understand what he's going through. Now you've done a lot of different music in your time.
Do you remember the first time you wrapped?
- Oh absolutely. My mother struggled with like mental health and addiction stuff, right? And she'd come to the kitchen and the whole house would come with we listen to music.
And while I realized that music was affecting her addiction, I was like, oh, this makes mom happy. I should go write music, right? So I went upstairs and I wrote a rap because hip-hop was super influential in our culture.
And I went downstairs from my list sheet of paper and she had all of her friends at the kitchen table. I called them with golden girls, like 6 or 7 of them. And they all come to the kitchen table together and they just change the most cigarettes.
And I came down and she turned a record off and said, what's your get? I said listen to this and I held my list sheet of paper up and I was shaken a whole time. And I wrapped her a little rap
and I was probably 12 years old 11 years old.
“I don't like, I just remember that feeling”
of everybody cheering me on and telling me to go write another one. And in hindsight, they were just trying to get rid of me. That's how we do kids. Yeah, great.
We're at another one of those. [LAUGHTER] That is so cool. Thank you so much.
This has been just an amazing few minutes
to spend with an amazing artist and person. We have just heard the authentic story of an incredible storyteller and someone who truly honors the impact of music in all of our lives.
Jelly Roll is on a mission to spread the good words of his music and make a real difference in the world. And I think he's doing just that. I'm Lynn Hoffman and thank you so much for listening to this episode of Music Saved Me.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
