Fat

The Zoo Crew, those groovy hippie DJs at THE ZOO radio station, are spinning the provocative track "Fat" by Jesse Welles from his album Hells Welles, firing up their devoted Zoo Freaks. This song, a biting folk protest anthem, stirred buzz with its sharp critique of the food industry and personal responsibility. In a Saving Country Music feature, fans debated its refrain, "Well it's your own damn fault you're so damn fat," with some praising its raw honesty while others saw it as a sly jab at systemic issues, like addictive food engineering. One fan commented, "The food industry adds sugar disguised as things you’ve never heard of... it’s no accident," highlighting the song’s nod to corporate manipulation. Welles himself hasn’t directly explained the song’s intent, but its viral spread on TikTok and Instagram, where he’s amassed over 2 million followers, shows its resonance with listeners grappling with America’s obesity epidemic.

Another tidbit about "Fat" comes from its reception at live shows, like Welles’ sold-out Bowery Ballroom gig in February 2025, detailed in a Vulture profile. Fans chanted “Jesse! Jesse! Jesse!” as he fingerpicked through the song’s gritty lyrics, turning it into a communal anthem. The track’s bridge, with lines like "Sucrose monosaccharides, diastatic malt, high-fructose corn syrup," showcases Welles’ knack for weaving technical jargon into catchy, sardonic verses. On Reddit’s FolkPunk community, a user gushed, “His lyrics are master pieces of current times,” comparing him to John Prine for his clever wordplay. The song’s raw acoustic delivery, recorded in the woods near his Arkansas home, adds to its DIY charm, a hallmark of Welles’ recent folk pivot.

Jesse Welles, born Jesse Wells in 1994 in Ozark, Arkansas, kicked off his musical journey at age 11, strumming a guitar and soaking up influences like Bob Dylan, Nirvana, and Motown, according to his Wikipedia page. As a teen, he burned his own CDs to sell homemade recordings, a hustle that foreshadowed his DIY ethos. By 2012, under the alias Jeh Sea Wells, he was posting tracks on SoundCloud and Bandcamp, raw and unpolished. That year, he formed the rock band Dead Indian with Dirk Porter and Simon Martin, releasing two albums. In 2015, he moved to Nashville to work with producer Dave Cobb, dropping a cover of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” and forming another band, Cosmic American, which fizzled out by 2016. His 2018 debut album Red Trees and White Trashes, under the mononym Welles, leaned into rock, but it was his 2023 TikTok covers and 2024 folk protest songs like "Fat" that skyrocketed his fame.

Welles’ shift to folk was sparked by personal and global turmoil, notably his father’s heart attack in 2024, as noted in The New York Times. This led him to write topical songs tackling issues like capitalism and the fentanyl crisis, earning him comparisons to Dylan and Pete Seeger. His official website offers a hub for his music and merch, while his Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts keep fans updated with new releases and tour dates. Fans also flock to the Jesse Welles Hells Welles Fan Group on Facebook, where they share live videos and dissect lyrics. Another fan hub, Jesse Welles’ official store, sells vinyl and tees, fueling the Zoo Freaks’ love for this modern-day troubadour.