Why Nashville native Jelly Roll is stepping up for incarcerated youth in his hometown

Jason "Jelly Roll" DeFord wants to give back to the city that raised him.

On Wednesday, the genre-bending artist and songwriter committed roughly $250,000 to programs aiding incarcerated and underserved youth in Nashville. Partnering with local mentoring non-profit Impact Youth Outreach, the donation plans to fund a recording studio inside Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center — where DeFord, an Antioch native, once served a criminal sentence before chasing his music-making dreams as Jelly Roll.

In addition to "Jelly Studio," the money aims to fund five $10,000 scholarships for graduating seniors in Davidson Country, as well as holiday season food and toy drives organized by Impact Youth Outreach.

DeFord confirmed the philanthropic effort at a press conference Wednesday inside Bridgestone Arena, where he headlines a homecoming show next month. He raised donation funds via ticket sales to the upcoming show.

"Nashville is a town that people come and take from," the 37-year-old DeFord said Wednesday during the press conference. "They come and they party. They make the best memory of their life right here on Broadway ... They come and they chase their dreams. They join the medical field. They become big musicians in the music industry and make millions of dollars. But they never give back."

He continued, "As a local kid, I felt like it was important to start addressing the problem hands-on, at a community level."

DeFord — a towering, tattooed singer known for rock hit "Dead Man Walking," heatseeking country radio tune "Son of a Sinner" and heart-on-his-sleeve anthem "Save Me" — spent years hustling in a D.I.Y. hip-hop scene before reaching a wave of mainstream success that includes headline-making Grand Ole Opry performances and tour dates with radio-rock staple Shinedown.

Prior to finding solace on stage, DeFord served time in his teens and 20s for aggravated robbery and possession with intent to sell charges, respectively. He hopes opening a studio inside Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center gives incarcerated youth a space to learn a trade that can be applied to life after detention.

In the future, local producers could visit the space to teach lessons and cut educational sessions.

"Music is my passion, so it's the first thing that I know how to bring to people," DeFord told The Tennessean.

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For Impact Youth Outreach and like-minded organizations, DeFord's donation aids "never-ending" community work, said Trecie Tharpe, a Impact Youth Outreach board member.

"It's critical that we maximize [the donation] and leverage it to make the most of it, because it's not every day you have a Nashville native who has gone on to do so many amazing things come back and give to the city who birthed him," Tharpe said.

And in the coming years, DeFord wants to expand his outreach beyond Nashville — to community centers and additional studio spaces in Tennessee neighborhoods needing extracurricular resources.

As for his homecoming show? He hopes it becomes an annual party that helps fuel his vision. But he can't achieve it alone. At the conference, DeFord urged others who found success in Nashville — including those in the music scene — to step up.

"Kids are killing each other ... it's just getting sad," DeFord said. "As a community we have to stand up and we have to do something about it. I'm challenging my musician friends: To come from your ivory tower, get [out] from behind your guitar, roll your sleeves up and ... see the problems we have in this community."

He continued, "While you're ridin' up and down Broadway, makin' a quarter-million dollars a show, I'd like you to see the side of the city that can't afford dinner ... To see the side of Nashville that didn't make all the TV shows."

Jelly Roll performs Dec. 9 at Bridgestone Arena; previously sold-out promoters released a handful of tickets and VIP packages Wednesday; proceeds benefit DeFord's forthcoming donation.