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“Daddy, I Did It”: Star Jelly Roll Honors His Late Father as He Unveils His 500-Acre Dream Estate with Wife
In a deeply emotional moment surrounded by close friends, family, and fans, award-winning country-rap star Jelly Roll officially unveiled his long-awaited 500-acre dream estate just outside of Nashville. What was meant to be a celebratory occasion quickly transformed into a touching tribute as the singer, voice quivering and eyes filled with tears, looked to the sky and uttered three simple but powerful words: “Daddy, I did it.”
The statement, heartfelt and raw, echoed through the vast hills of the property, capturing a moment years in the making — a dream shaped by hardship, fueled by determination, and inspired by a father’s memory.
A Dream Rooted in Legacy
Jelly Roll, born Jason DeFord, has never shied away from sharing his troubled past — from incarceration and addiction to redemption through music and love. But through it all, one figure remained a steady presence in his heart: his late father, who he credits with instilling in him the values of hard work, perseverance, and self-belief.
“This was more than just buying land or building a home,” Jelly Roll said during the ceremony, which was held near a newly built stone archway entrance to the estate. “This was about keeping a promise to a man who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I told him one day I’d give our family a place where peace lives — and now it’s here.”
Jelly Roll’s father passed away in 2019, just before the singer began his meteoric rise in the mainstream music world. Since then, every milestone — every award, every sold-out show, every hit record — has been bittersweet. But this estate, he says, was the big one.
A Home Built on Love
The 500-acre estate, located roughly 45 minutes outside downtown Nashville, is a sprawling combination of rustic elegance and personal expression. With rolling green pastures, thick wooded areas, and winding trails, the property reflects not only Jelly Roll’s love for the land but also his and his wife Bunnie XO’s shared vision of creating a sanctuary — both for their family and for healing.
“We wanted a place that felt like freedom,” said Bunnie XO, Jelly Roll’s wife and podcast co-host. “A place where our family, our friends, and even strangers could come and find peace. Jason’s poured his heart into this dream, and seeing him walk through it today, knowing what it means to him… there’s nothing more beautiful.”
The estate includes a main lodge-inspired home with seven bedrooms, a large wraparound porch, a barn-turned-studio, and even a lake stocked with fish — something Jelly Roll said his father always talked about having. There are also plans to build guest cottages, a community garden, and a memorial grove in honor of lost loved ones, including his dad.
From Prison Cells to Palatial Hills
Jelly Roll’s rise from the gritty streets of Antioch, Tennessee, to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry has become the stuff of legend. Once viewed as an unlikely star due to his criminal record and unconventional sound, he has steadily built a career rooted in authenticity, vulnerability, and raw storytelling.
“I wasn’t supposed to make it,” he admitted, standing in front of a hand-carved wooden sign that reads “DeFord Hills.” “People told me I’d either die young or stay locked up. But music saved me. My wife saved me. My fans saved me. And now I get to wake up and walk this land every day and say I made it — not just for me, but for everyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t belong.”
His music, blending elements of country, rock, hip-hop, and soul, has resonated with millions for exactly that reason — it speaks to brokenness, redemption, and the power of hope.
Honoring a Father’s Influence
The unveiling ceremony included a private moment at a memorial bench placed under a willow tree overlooking the property’s highest point. There, Jelly Roll knelt, placed a hand on the engraved words — “In Loving Memory of My First Hero” — and quietly repeated the phrase: “Daddy, I did it.”
Attendees described the moment as powerful, sacred, and deeply moving.
“You could feel his father’s presence there,” said one family friend. “This wasn’t about celebrity. It was about a son fulfilling a promise. That land is a living love letter.”
Jelly Roll later shared that his father always dreamed of “getting away from the noise” and often spoke of having land where “the family could come together, laugh, and just breathe.”
“That’s what this place is,” he said. “It’s more than a dream. It’s a promise kept.”
A Legacy to Be Shared
Despite its personal roots, Jelly Roll made it clear that the estate is not meant to be a private kingdom but a shared sanctuary. Plans are already underway to use parts of the land for charitable events, youth outreach programs, and recovery retreats — causes close to the artist’s heart.
“I wouldn’t be here without second chances,” he said. “So this land, it’s going to give second chances too.”
As the sun dipped behind the Tennessee hills, the crowd stood in reflective silence, then broke into applause — not for the fame, not for the fortune, but for the journey. A journey from prison walls to country halls, from brokenness to beauty, from a father’s hope to a son’s fulfillment.
And at the center of it all stood Jelly Roll — husband, artist, father, son — on the land he now calls home, looking to the sky and whispering again: “Daddy, I did it.”
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