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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson published one of the most heartfelt pieces of the year-a rare occasion when an emotional first meeting with Jelly Roll was allowed a glimpse into a friendship that had spanned a decade. Having witnessed the brothers hug it out on American Idol, the backstory somehow makes it sting a little more.
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Johnson said that, in 2017, he was in what he called “mental hellness” – displaying a brave face yet struggling on the inside. Suddenly, all of a sudden, the Jelly Roll jam, “Only,” crank into his ears. The lyrics struck him so hard that he called the singer. Johnson had never even met him before. “This song of yours is helping me through some stuff,” he said. And in that moment, an instant bond was cultivated, which was kept alive across various texts and support mechanisms all through the years.
Look here at the first meeting, Johnson gave Jelly Roll an old postcard of Alamo Plaza Motel, Nashville. Why? Because at 15, Johnson was forced to leave Hawaii and live there with a stranger named Downtown Bruno after his family got evicted. That stranger then turned out to be one of his closest friends-the same as Jelly Roll became to his music.
The comment section broke into waves of love. “This is the wholesomeness we all need,” one user said. Then country star Kane Brown exclaimed, “Aight I’m jealous of this,” much to the amusement of many fans joking about his jealousy. Then the feels began pouring from the keyboard of one user who wrote, “I’m not crying you’re not crying we’re all crying.” Some cynics, however, responded with “why would I cry over a junkie meeting an ego maniac.”
A high-impact moment arose when Jelly Roll got choked up holding the postcard. “You don’t know what this means,” he said, remembering the early days in his career when handwritten notes from legends-it meant more to him than platinum plaques from Kid Rock. Johnson nodded knowingly; two self-made men who had never forgotten where they had come from.
Even crazier? Johnson revealed he had just been jammin’ to Craig Morgan’s “Almost Home” lately in his truck before the meeting. Morgan happens to be the artist who gave Jelly Roll handwritten lyrics that made him cry almost a decade ago. “How’s THAT for the universe conspiring,” Johnson marvels.
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The post collected thousands of hits within a few hours, with Lloyd’s post showing that not even a Hollywood tough-guy-leading man shies away from revealing a little bit of vulnerability. One fan summed it all up: “Artist inspiring artist. Both of you have the power to change public perception.” Others describe it as emptiness; shallow and meaningless; this brotherhood, forged in ten years, is a real deal.
You can view the original article HERE.
