‘He’s Loved by This Community’

Brandon Lake won a Grammy this year for his collab with Jelly Roll, “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” The Christian artist says that Jelly is “trying to use his entire life to do good” after the country star was criticized for his backstage Grammys speech. In a new interview on Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, Lake says actions outweigh any words.

“I think that’s the problem: People are looking for a statement and not looking at our lives,” Lake says. “Jelly Roll isn’t perfect, just like I’m not perfect. But Jelly Roll is trying to use his entire life to advance the kingdom, to do good, to love people. And I know he’s doing that. He’s loved by this community not just because of the songs he written, but because of the things he’s done.”

Lake, who released the new duet with Lainey Wilson on Good Friday, “The Jesus I Know Now,” says he admires Jelly Roll for publicly admitting that he doesn’t have all the answers. According to Lake, Jelly Roll is more about “trying to let [his] life speak louder than just ‘here’s my statement.’ And that’s what I’m trying to do too. The things that maybe you only find out if you are really, really digging and are looking, of how I love my community and how I’m actually trying to be the answer, not say the answer.”

The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, native is currently on his King of Hearts Tour, which showcases songs off his album of the same name, like “I Know a Name” and “Sevens.”

“I would much rather be known for how I live than what I said on an interview,” Lake says on Nashville Now. Watch the full episode below.

Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone’s weekly country-music podcast, Nashville Now, hosted by senior music editor Joseph Hudak, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). New episodes drop every Wednesday and feature interviews with artists and personalities like Vince Gill, Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Charley Crockett, Kings of Leon, the Black Crowes, Carly Pearce, Breland, Bryan Andrews, Noeline Hofmann, Devon Gilfillian, Gavin Adcock, Amanda Shires, Shooter Jennings, Margo Price, Ink, Rival Sons’ Jay Buchanan, Halestorm, Dusty Slay, Lukas Nelson, Ashley Monroe, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor, Clever, and authors Marissa R. Moss, Josh Crutchmer, and Jonathan Bernstein.

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