Entertainment Music Country Jelly Roll on the 'Really Personal' Reason He Gave Back to Detention Center That Incarcerated Him "I think it's important that we give back, especially [to] our kids," Jelly Roll said Friday on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast with host Janine Rubenstein By Glenn Garner Glenn Garner Glenn Garner is a form writer-reporter who worked heavily with PEOPLE's Movies and TV verticals. He left PEOPLE in 2023. People Editorial Guidelines Published on December 2, 2022 04:41PM EST Jelly Roll is paying it forward. On Friday's episode of the PEOPLE Every Day podcast with host Janine Rubenstein, the country rap artist, 37, said he wants "to bring hope" to troubled youth following the release of his latest album Ballads of the Broken. "It's important, man. I think it's important that we give back, especially [to] our kids," he said. "Man, our youth are so impressionable and the old quote goes, 'None of them asked to be here.' The musician, born Jason DeFord, continued, "They were born into just whatever situation it was, and sometimes they can't see past that situation or that neighborhood or that environment. I just hope to bring hope to that and kind of be a beacon and a light for those kids." Taylor Hill/FilmMagic With the help of nonprofit Impact Youth Outreach, DeFord is donating a recording studio to Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center in Nashville, where he was incarcerated as a kid and discovered his passion for music. Go Behind-the-Scenes with Jelly Roll at His Sold-Out Red Rocks Show: All the Photos "I was in and out of there for about three, three and a half years. I spent a lot of time there and eventually got charged as an adult for a crime I committed as a juvenile," he recalled. "And I just realized that was the most impactful thing that ever happened in my life, and the darkest moments of my life still were being that 15-year-old scared kid spending Thanksgiving away from his family." RELATED VIDEO: Toby Keith Shares First Health Update After His Stomach Cancer Reveal: 'It's Pretty Debilitating' "I knew that I wanted to give back whenever I was in a situation to, and I always knew I wanted to make it really personal," DeFord continued. "So, I went back to the same juvenile that I started doing music at. I wrote some of my first raps there, had my first big rap battle there." Since his own time at the detention center, DeFord has returned to mentor some of the kids currently incarcerated. PEOPLE Every Day can be streamed daily on multiple platforms including iHeartMedia,Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon Music.