Jelly Roll Films New Video 'Hands Up' at San Quentin Prison

Jelly Roll has filmed a new music video for his song "Hands Up" at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in California, according to a report from Rolling Stone.

The singer visited the facility, which was famously the site of a Johnny Cash performance for inmates. Jelly Roll, who has spoken openly about his own past incarceration, said shooting the video was "Truly one of the most special things I’ve ever had the opportunity to do."

What makes the video special?

He emphasized that the participants in the video were real inmates. "These are not actors. This is not a movie set," he reiterated. On social media, Jelly Roll expanded on the personal significance, writing, "The moment my life truly changed is when I threw my hands up. I know a lot of folks will hear this and remember their ‘hands up’ moment as well and that is making this that much cooler for me."

He added, "I remember being in the same kind of place all these incarcerated guys are in and what it took for me to finally throw my hands up, to get to do this with them is beyond words for me y’all."

Who else has performed at San Quentin?

By filming there, Jelly Roll joins a list of artists who have brought their work to the prison, including Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, and Metallica. In a post about the project, he thanked "everyone involved, especially the guys in the facility, San Quinten and every single staff member, everyone who worked on the video from the director to the assistants assistants." He joked, "This may be the best video of my career but maybe I’ve got recency bias lolol."

The "Hands Up" video was released shortly after news surfaced that Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo had finalized their divorce.