“This Is the Wild West, Dude”: Jelly Roll Name-Drops Waylon Jennings, Talks Being “In the Eye of the Storm” of Country Music Insanity

Country music is more popular now than it has been in decades. At the moment, many of the genre’s artists are finding their songs high on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At the same time, some of the biggest names from other genres—Post Malone, Beyoncé, and more recently Ringo Starr—are crossing over or doing one-off country projects. Jelly Roll entered the genre from hip-hop with his 2023 album Whitsitt Chapel. Now, he’s sitting near the top of the genre and watching it grow around him.

Recently, Jelly Roll appeared on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen to talk about his latest album Beautifully Broken. During their conversation, he talked about the current state of the genre and its ever-growing popularity.

[RELATED: 5 Must-Hear Songs from Jelly Roll’s New Album ‘Beautifully Broken’]

Jelly Roll on the “Insane” Popularity of Country Music

Jelly Roll credits artists like Morgan Wallen, Tyler Childers, and Zach Bryan for the genre’s current level of popularity. To him, the country music world of today rivals that of the mid-70s when the Outlaw Country movement was starting to grow.

“This is by far the wildest moment in country music history,” Jelly said. “I used to be like, ‘I know this isn’t close to what the outlaws did in the ‘70s. That’s what I would say two years ago. Two years removed, I think even Waylon would look around right now and be like, ‘This is the Wild West, dude,’” he added.

Jelly Roll is no doubt benefiting from the popularity of the genre while also contributing to it. “I think I’m one of the people that’s clearly seeing the impact that’s happening right now. I am in the middle of it,” he said. “I feel like I’m in the eye of the storm, so I’m in the calmest part, and I’m getting to really see the craziness,” he added.

The chart performance of his songs and other artists’ work is another indication of the state of the genre. “I was looking at the pop radio charts today,” Jelly Roll said. “Man, every sixth song is a country song, dude. I don’t want to say it too loud because I don’t want them to take it from us. But it’s just we’re in an interesting time.”

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