Ballads of the Broken

Ballads of the Broken is the eighth and major-label debut studio album by American rapper Jelly Roll, released on September 17, 2021, through Bailee & Buddy and BBR Music Group. It includes the singles "Dead Man Walking", which reached number one on the US Mainstream Rock chart, and "Son of a Sinner", which reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Country Airplay chart. The success of "Son of a Sinner", one of the few Nashville country-influenced songs on the album, inspired Jelly Roll to fully take on a country sound for his following album, Whitsitt Chapel (2023).

Critical reception
A staff review on AllMusic called it "short and surprising" due to the "evolution" in Jelly Roll's sound and his taking "a different stylistic approach than his usual countrified rap on almost every track, going from country-adjacent hooks [on] 'Son of a Sinner' to eerie, remorse-filled pop tunes [on] 'Over You'." The review also highlighted Jelly Roll's "soulful vocals and the twangy backing [as] the main points of interest here", and felt that to longtime fans, the slight shift in his sound "shouldn't be too much of a jolt" after Self Medicated (2020).

Personnel
Musicians
 * Jelly Roll – vocals
 * Jayden Panesso – additional programming
 * Shannon Forrest – drums
 * Justin Abraham – drums
 * Cole Clark – drums
 * Craig Young – bass guitar
 * Rob McNelley – electric guitar
 * Gabe Baker – cello
 * Ilya Toshinskiy – acoustic guitar, electric slide guitar
 * Stu Stapleton – additional keyboards
 * Jack Fowler – additional guitar
 * David Ray Stevens – additional vocals
 * Michael Whitworth – additional vocals

Technical
 * Andrew Baylis – production (1, 2, 4–10), mixing (9, 10), engineering (all tracks)
 * Ernest K. – production (3, 10)
 * Ilya Toshinskiy – production (3), additional engineering (all tracks)
 * David Ray Stevens – production (9); additional production, engineering (all tracks)
 * Eric "Wee Wee" Flemming – additional production
 * Joe LaPorta – mastering (1–6, 8–10)
 * Still Matthews – mastering (7)
 * F. Reid Shippen – mixing (1, 2, 4–8)
 * Buckley Miller – mixing (3)
 * Joe Trentacosti – engineering
 * Lowell Reynolds – engineering
 * Jason Mott – engineering
 * Myle Manner – engineering
 * Aaron Chmielewski – additional engineering
 * Brad Winters – additional engineering
 * Shannon Forrest – additional engineering

Visuals
 * Don Henson – art direction, design, photography
 * Meme Shahan – art direction, design
 * Lou Miceli Jr. – art direction, design