Brandon Lake continues to blur genre lines as he welcomes Jelly Roll to Christian music, thanks to the pair’s red-hot collaboration on Lake’s “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” In turn, country radio has even begun embracing the remix of the gut-wrenchingly raw original.
The two artists, rising stars in their respective genres, recently visited the K-LOVE Studios and sat down with Carlos for a discussion around their newfound friendship and the dialogue the soulful single is already sparking.
“I wanted to share this song with somebody that had a really beautiful and hard-fought story, and the first person that came to mind was Jelly,” Lake told Carlos. When his management team connected him to Jelly Roll, he quickly learned the Tennessee native already had his latest release on repeat.
“I’m honored that I was the call,” Jelly Roll shared. “I’m a Brandon Lake fan… What he’s doing for Christian music, even outside of Christian music — he’s taking it further than I’ve seen anybody take it in a long time.”
Like Lake, Jelly Roll appears to be pushing boundaries in his own genre — country music. While the chart-topping singer was baptized at 14, his history with the Church is complicated. The troubled teen started experimenting with drugs early in his life. Selling them eventually landed him in prison. Throughout a tumultuous decade, he was arrested multiple times and even charged with armed robbery. While he was incarcerated in 2008, he discovered he had a daughter. That became a defining moment that made him want to turn his life around.
Although he originally began his music career in hip-hop, the former rapper eventually transitioned to country music with his underdog story earning him a CMA Award for New Artist of the Year, as well as a handful of GRAMMY® nominations. Known for hits like “Son of a Sinner” and “Need a Favor,” Jelly Roll’s renewed relationship with God has become a natural part of his songwriting as he often wrestles with his convictions in his lyrics. In a filmed conversation with Lake, he confessed, “I might wear it a little different than other people; I might say things that other Christians don’t think are right to say, but ultimately, I have a heart for God and I have a heart for Jesus.”
It’s Jelly Roll’s unorthodox variety of faith that makes him such a compelling collaborator on “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” However, a series of phone calls revealed that both he and Lake had more in common than they might have initially perceived.
“We didn’t want it to feel like an off-brand collab. I wanted to share my heart with him,” Jelly Roll told Carlos. “You can always expect me to be honest to the human I am right now.”
Lake also shared how Jelly Roll’s story has challenged his own view of what Church can look like. “My life was transformed when I started becoming a part of all these different songwriter communities,” the longtime worship leader said. “I’ve had more Church in a little studio or in someone’s living room than I’ve had on a Sunday morning… I think Church can happen anywhere and look many different ways.”
The two men performed “Hard Fought Hallelujah” live together for the first time when Lake made his Grand Ole Opry debut Feb. 19. Jelly Roll even admits to incorporating the track into his own concerts now — simply because he resonates so deeply with the song’s message.
“God does something really beautiful when I just bring Him my honesty,” Lake shared of the sentiment behind the single he originally co-wrote with Steven Furtick, Chris Brown, Benjamin William Hastings and Rodrick Simmons. “You’re trying to worship and praise more so when you don’t feel it than when you do. A lot of life is the valley; it’s not the mountaintop.”
Adding Jelly Roll to the recording takes what was already a surefire hit to the next level. Now, there’s no telling where “Hard Fought Hallelujah” will end up. As both Jelly Roll and Lake told Carlos, the impact it’s making has already exceeded their expectations.
“I love the conversation it’s creating,” Jelly Roll said. “Millions of people like me are finding a safe place in God.”
