Jelly Roll is one of the hottest collaborators in music as of late. It’s undeniable how much his star power has grown over the past year with his transition from rap to country. While his artistic identity is expanding, he’s not neglecting his roots, as reflected in the versatility of the artists he’s working with. It seems as though every week, Jelly Roll has a new collaboration out, so we’ve decided to look at some of the best he’s released.
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1. “Creature” with Krizz Kaliko & Tech N9ne
“Creature” is arguably one of Jelly Roll’s best songs. Featured on the Nashville native’s album A Beautiful Disaster, “Creature” finds him singing with frequent collaborators Krizz Kaliko and Tech N9ne. The lyrics have them manifesting their inner demons into physical form, professing in the chorus, The monster that’s outside my window / He’s like family to me now / The things that people are afraid of / Never let me down. It’s easily one of the best collaborations of his career thus far.
2. “Save Me” with Lainey Wilson
Like Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson‘s career is on fire at the moment. So it was only natural that the labelmates would team up at some point. That moment came on his 2023 debut country album, Whitsitt Chapel, when he called on her for “Save Me.” Released as the album’s second single, “Save Me” came from “a really dark place,” as described by Jelly Roll, as it was written during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and a year after his father died. The song is currently climbing up the Top 20 on country radio.
“When something comes across the table that feels true to me or it feels like me and I would really love to be a part of this, I think collaborating, that’s awesome,” Wilson tells American Songwriter. “I’ve become really close with these people and I’m a fan of all of them on and off the stage. Just good people who want to help each other and I think that’s really what collaborating is all about.”
3. “Unlive” with Yelawolf
Jelly Roll went back to his roots on Whitsitt Chapel, which also featured a collaboration with fellow Nashville rapper Yelawolf on “Unlive.” The song blends rock, country and rap as Jelly Roll addresses his history as a drug dealer. I done seen pain pills turn to needles / The things I’ve done to numb these feelings / Is somethin’ that you can’t outrun / You can’t unlive where you’re from, he sings. Yelawolf is a welcomed addition, whose verse also speaks to witnessing overdoses and watching family members succumb to addiction before his eventual rise to fame when he was signed to Eminem‘s Shady Records.
4. “Scared to Go to Church” with Chris Ryan
Jelly Roll and Chris Ryan proclaimed they are “Scared to Go to Church” in the latter’s song. The longtime friends became tourmates in 2022 when Ryan pitched him the song that features such powerful lyrics as I’m so broken inside / Don’t know how much my soul could be worth.
“At the time, I was at a point in my life where I was drawing a lot of parallels to what he was talking about in his music. He’s just so raw and transparent with his fans, and that really spoke to me,” Ryan tells American Songwriter about why he wanted Jelly as a featured artist. “He’s as real as it gets, so it really enables you to open up and get to the heart of what you’re trying to say. He’s uniquely gifted at making you feel like you’ve known him your whole life.”
5. “Wild Ones” with Jessie Murph
Jelly Roll steps back into his rap persona on Jessie Murph’s “Wild Ones.” The fellow Nashville singer, who went viral on TikTok, called on Jelly Roll for “Wild Ones,” which casts them as two rabble-rousers who have a habit of flirting with darkness. “Wild Ones” leans into country trap as the two reprise, I got a thing for the wild ones / Just like they do / I got a thing for the wild ones / They like me too.
6. “Behind Bars” with Struggle Jennings & Brantley Gilbert
Jelly Roll combined his rap roots and country future when he tagged Struggle Jennings and Brantley Gilbert for “Behind Bars,” another track on Whitsitt Chapel. Struggle Jennings is another rapper Jelly Roll came up with in the Nashville rap scene, while Gilbert is one of Jelly’s first country collaborators when he appeared on “Son of the Dirty South” on Gilbert’s 2022 album, So Help Me God.
The trio unites on “Behind Bars” which also talks about Jelly Roll’s past and how many of his friends are in jail. “I feel like right now is a time in our genre and just music in general where the boat’s starting to rock and when the boat rocks, I start getting excited,” Gilbert tells American Songwriter.
7. “Chevrolet” with Dustin Lynch
Jelly Roll appears on Dustin Lynch‘s 2023 album, Killed the Cowboy. The two team up on “Chevrolet,” a re-imagination of the Eagles’ hit “Drift Away,” wherein they find a country girl disguised as a city slicker. Jelly Roll appears in the second verse singing, I think I fell in love right then and there / We were at the door before the end of the song / I said where to, she said I don’t care / Just don’t take me home, what you waiting on? “The melody of that song is timeless. Everyone knows it. But having Jelly Roll on it adds an extra edge,” Lynch shares in a press statement.
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