Jelly Roll, a longtime fan of Eminem, recently lived out a dream when he joined the rap legend for a special duet on NBC’s Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central. But before stepping on stage, he discovered the admiration was mutual.
In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Jelly Roll revealed that Eminem’s manager personally approached him during a concert in Detroit last year. “We’re all hanging out backstage, and I’m just like, ‘Hey, does Marshall even know who I am?’” Jelly recalled. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s why I’m here, man. Marshall loves you. I wanna get y’all together.’”
Fast forward to the taping of the Detroit special, Eminem’s team reached out again—this time with a direct request: they wanted Jelly Roll to sing the Aerosmith “Dream On” sample from Eminem’s iconic track “Sing for the Moment.”
“They called back and was like, ‘Eminem wants to know if you would sing a song with him,’” Jelly said. “I get goosebumps up my body. I was like, ‘Dude, I’m so in.’”
Despite his excitement, Jelly admitted to being nervous during the performance. “It definitely wasn’t my best — you could see the nerves on my face. This song did a lot for me in dark moments of my life, too. I’m a lifelong fan.”
He went on to praise Eminem, calling him “inarguably the greatest rapper that ever lived.” Jelly added, “You’re literally meeting the greatest at his craft.”
The moment was just as special behind the scenes. Jelly’s wife, Bunnie XO, shared a heartwarming video of her husband meeting Eminem for the first time during rehearsals, captioned: “When the goat meets the GOAT.”
Days later, Jelly reflected on the experience with Entertainment Tonight. “When I think about the coolest moments of my career, right now at the top, there has to be this thing that I got to go sing with Eminem in Detroit,” he said. “It was unreal.”
