Jully Black
Jully Black is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born Jullyann Inderia Gordon on November 8, 1977, in Toronto, Ontario. She is the youngest of nine children and her parents are Jamaican immigrants. She grew up in the North York area, in the Jane and Finch neighborhood, and was raised in a strict Pentecostal home after her parents’ divorce.
At 19, she was discovered by Warner/Chappell Music and signed to a deal. Universal Music Canada also wanted to work with her. She earned her first Juno Award nomination in 1997 and would be nominated many times after that. Jully had a Top 40 hit in Canada with Rally’n in 1998. She also contributed to Rascalz’ song Northern Touch, though she couldn’t participate due to other commitments. In 1999 she appeared on 2Rude’s single Dissin Us, which won a MuchMusic Video Award in 2000.
Her debut album was planned for 2003 under MCA Records but was shelved when the label folded. In 2005 she released a new album, This Is Me, through Universal Music Canada. The album included the singles Sweat of Your Brow and 5x Love. Around the same time, she acted in the theatre production Da Kink in My Hair in Toronto, which led to a TV tie-in with a Global TV series.
Jully released her second album, Revival, in 2007. It won the Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, and her singles from that era, including Seven Day Fool, helped her gain major recognition. She also became known for her work with other artists, such as Nas, Destiny’s Child, Sean Paul, and Kardinal Offishall.
She has worked as a TV presenter and reporter, including roles on Canadian Idol (season 6), etalk, and The Marilyn Denis Show, and she hosted the Canadian Radio Music Awards in 2008. In 2012 she opened for Celine Dion at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival and released the Dropping W(8) EP.
Later projects included performing on FreeUp! The Emancipation Day Special (2020), and appearing in The Amazing Race Canada (2022), where she and her partner were eliminated on the first leg. In 2023 she sang Canada’s national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game, changing the lyrics to honor Indigenous groups, which earned recognition from the Assembly of First Nations. That year she also joined a charity recording of Serena Ryder’s What I Wouldn’t Do to support Kids Help Phone.
In 2024 she narrated the TV documentary series Paid in Full: The Battle for Black Music. In 2025, with manager Jason “Redz” Reynolds, Jully announced a 14-date headlining tour—the first in 17 years.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:59 (CET).