Brantley Gilbert has a lot of new music coming out, but it won’t be a solo project. The father of two reveals he is working on a new project, this time with rapper-turned-country-singer, Jelly Roll.
“We went and lived in the studio for about a week,” Gilbert tells Country Now. “We’ve really got enough for an album, so I think right now we’re just trying to figure out whether or not it’s gonna be an EP or an album, but there’s definitely something coming.”
Both Gilbert and Jelly Roll grew up with a love of rock and rap music, influences that can be heard in their music now, and will definitely be evident on their next set of tunes.
“This album that we put together, this EP that we put together, literally covers every base. I mean, we both went into our little bag of tricks across the board,” Gilbert hints. “So there’s a little bit of everything on it. When you hear this project, it will blow your mind. I could play you one song and then play you another one, and you can say, in million years, do not ever put that on the same album.”
Gilbert was familiar with Jelly Roll and his music for a while, but it took someone playing him one of Jelly Roll’s songs, a song Jelly Roll did with Struggle Jennings, which made Gilbert really pay attention.
“I had heard his music before, but he played me a song called ‘Fall in the Fall,’ and I didn’t know who it was,” Gilbert remembers. “Then when he told me, I was like, ‘Oh crap, I hadn’t dug into that world in a minute.'”
Their love of rock music and numerous tattoos are just a few of the many, many things Gilbert says the two have in common.
“That is a relationship that developed organically, and we were friends before we wrote a song together. I felt that when I walked in the room and we shook hands,” Gilbert reflects. “We’re both a little rough around the edges and we both have a little bit of a past and people like us recognize each other. So that was that; we hit it off immediately.”
Gilbert, who overcame alcoholism after going to rehab in 2011, also has a lot of respect for Jelly Roll, and the seemingly impossible odds he overcame, to be the best version of himself that he could be.
“He went to prison and served his time, and the man came out with all guns blazing and you can’t help but respect that,” Gilbert maintains. “When somebody that’s been through some sh– tells me about it, I listen a lot more than somebody telling me that they had a bad day. You had some bad years, you had a bad chapter in your life, you had a different upbringing than others, and you worked your way through all of those things to succeed and be here and be present. Especially in this day in time, I don’t feel like anybody can take that from him. They damn sure won’t in front of me.”
After his “Son of a Sinner” hit No. 1, Jelly Roll said he is ready to “plant the flag” in country music to show he’s serious, especially with his upcoming debut album. As his career continues to grow, Gilbert vows to be Jelly Roll’s biggest cheerleader.
“I feel like Jelly Roll’s kind of getting that foot in the door, and kind of ushering in this whole movement that’s happening,” Gilbert says. “And I do feel like there is some stuff that divides him from other acts, like the ability to rap the way he does and then have a vocal that’s not just recognizable and familiar, it’s recognizable and familiar in a great way. He’s got a really soulful voice, and a lot of times you don’t see people in the rap world that can transition over and be melodic like that.”
No word yet when the project will be released. Gilbert is currently enjoying a Top 30 hit, with “Heaven by Then,” his collaboration with Blake Shelton and Vince Gill. The song is from his latest So Help Me God album, out in November. Gilbert will spend part of this year serving as the opening act for Nickelback on their Get Rollin’ Tour, which begins on June 12 in Quebec, Canada. Find music and tour dates at BrantleyGilbert.com.
