Jelly Roll out here supporting inmates even at the CMA Awards. The rapper-turned-country singer is well known for the work he does to support those who are locked up, from visiting with inmates in jails around the country while on tour to helping establish a music program in the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center right here in Nashville. Of course the issue is one that's personal for Jelly Roll (whose real name is Jason DeFord) after the superstar spent much of his younger years behind bars himself. He was convicted of robbery in 2003 after being arrested as a juvenile, and sentenced to 8 years in prison. He was released after serving a year of his sentence, but was picked up on drug charges in 2008 and forced to serve another year behind bars. Since then, he's managed to turn his life around and dedicate his career to not only making amends for his past behavior, but helping others avoid making the same mistakes he made. And now he's even supporting one of his fellow country music stars who recently found himself in jail. Jamey Johnson was arrested this past weekend in Williamson County, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville, on charges of speeding and felony marijuana possession. The singer was released on Monday, and appeared at the CMA Awards himself last night to pay tribute to the legendary George Strait, despite the fact that Johnson is potentially facing 6 years in prison for his charges. (Which is ridiculous, but that's another story). So maybe Jelly Roll just felt like showing his friend some support, or maybe he understood how Jamey felt when he was picked up on drug charges. Or maybe he's just continuing his work supporting those who are facing time behind bars. Who knows. But whatever the reason, viewers of the CMA Awards quickly noticed that Jelly Roll was wearing a Jamey Johnson patch on his jacket during last night's ceremonies. https://twitter.com/SoulwellPublish/status/1859515345733620134 Respect. Of course I think Jamey's doing alright for himself despite his legal troubles. He recently released his first studio album in 14 years, Midnight Gasoline. And ahead of the album's release, he spoke about his own battles with addiction while revealing that he hasn't had alcohol, and stopped smoking weed for a while too: "I think that lasted about eight years. Nine years. In that time period, it was all about sobriety. And with a sober mind, I’m able to do things like get a pilot’s license, manage a business, start a product line. I’m sober for the most part, but every now and then, I may still break out a joint if I’m writing or something like that. But I don’t play games with the alcohol." It's a journey that mirrors the one faced by Jelly Roll, who has discussed his own struggles with addiction and learning the limits of what he can and can't handle. (Although Jelly Roll got his jail time out of the way earlier in his career but hey, we're all on different timelines). Either way, it was cool to see Jelly rocking the Jamey Johnson patch on his jacket at the show last night - and obviously it was great to see Jamey on stage paying tribute to King George. @turtlebutt79 #jameyjohnson @JameyJohnsonOfficial #turtlesworld ♬ original sound - Turtlebutt