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Backstage Country

Jelly Roll Appears On His Childhood Hero’s Album

Jelly Roll posted a long Instagram post about appearing on his childhood hero’s album; that hero is Eminem. Jelly posted a photo of a recent meeting of himself and the…

Jelly Roll smiling on stage wearing a blue shirt
Phillip Faroane/Getty Images

Jelly Roll posted a long Instagram post about appearing on his childhood hero's album; that hero is Eminem.

Jelly posted a photo of a recent meeting of himself and the rap icon. He wrote, "I always say my childhood heroes lived somewhere between Willie Nelson and Eminem. As a teenager (and still today), I could recite every song on the Slim Shady album, the Marshall Mathers album, and The Eminem Show."

He continued, "When I bonded out of jail at 17 years old and was sneaking into cyphers and battles in Nashville they would also play the 'lose yourself' beat when I came out on stage at the freestyle battles. I related to every word Eminem wrote. I understood him and felt like he understood me, which was rare cause I spent most of my life feeling misunderstood."

"So you can imagine how I felt when I got that the call that Eminem would be sampling my song 'Save Me' on his new album. And for him to use the song to discuss the other side of what could’ve happened if he would’ve allowed his demons to win brought me to tears. If you haven’t heard it yet , check out 'Somebody Save Me' on Eminem’s new album 'the death of slim shady' special shout out to Paul Rosenberg , you’ve been nothing but kind to me and treated me like family and gave me opportunities I didn’t deserve, forever grateful."

See that video here.

Jelly Roll played his very first show in Canada last week. Because of his felony record, Jelly hasn't been able to travel to Canada, but the red tape has cleared, and he's playing there for the first time.

At a concert in Toronto, Jelly told the Canadian crowd, "Technically, this week is officially my international debut. Man, let me tell you something. Everything's been great."

He continued, "Cover the kids' ears, but the weed has been incredible. And the people have been great. I mean, I never had poutine until yesterday. I went to Smoke's (Poutinerie, a Canadian chain). It was fire."

He concluded, "I'm sorry I was late to the party, but I will take it home and make it a tradition to throw gravy on my fries. It was fire."

During a different show in Toronto (7/10), Jelly had a special surprise guest shocking the crowd by bringing out the Backstreet Boys' A.J. McLean. The pair sang a duet rendition of the boy band's classic "I Want It That Way."

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.