Biography
Jully Black has built a durable presence in Canadian music through her work as both singer and songwriter, balancing critical recognition with steady persistence. Deeply connected to R&B traditions yet open to a range of modern textures that include echoes of her Jamaican background, she has avoided strict adherence to any single stylistic lane. Her solo breakthrough arrived via the 1998 Top 20 Canadian hit “Rally’n.” Gold certification and a Juno Award followed for Revival in 2007, while “Running” reached the Top 40 in 2009. Subsequent releases, issued amid parallel commitments to acting, television, advocacy, and other projects, include the Juno-nominated “Set It Off” from 2011, the 2012 mixtape Dropping W(8), and additional singles that continued into the 2020s.
Raised in Toronto as Jullyann Inderia Gordon, Black first drew nationwide notice in 1997 through her featured turn on the title track of Choclair’s Juno-winning What It Takes EP. The following year she issued “Rally’n” on the Ill Vibe label, which climbed to number 12 on the Canadian pop chart and earned another Juno nomination. Several more singles plus a contribution to the Brown Sugar soundtrack appeared by 2002, setting the stage for a planned 2004 debut album that ultimately remained unreleased. During this period she also appeared on Nas’ “Heaven” and co-wrote “I Know” for Destiny’s Child.
Signing with Universal Music Canada, Black issued an album every other year from 2005 to 2009. Her first, This Is Me, entered the Canadian chart at number 34 on the strength of “Sweat of My Brow,” a number-16 single, and the double A-side “5x Love”/“Material Things,” which peaked at number 30 and featured Nas on the second track. Revival, released in 2007, performed even more strongly, achieving gold status thanks in part to the number-nine cover “Seven Day Fool,” originally cut by Etta James, and the further Top 40 entry “Until I Stay.” That same year she supplied the theme for the Canadian sitcom adaptation of Da Kink in My Hair. The trilogy concluded with The Black Book in 2009, which yielded “Running,” her sixth Top 40 single as lead artist.
Once again independent, Black maintained a steady output of singles over the ensuing years. The Kardinal Offishall collaboration “Set It Off” secured another Juno nomination and served as a centerpiece for the 2012 mixtape Dropping W(8). Further singles such as “Here 2 Love U,” “Fever,” and “Mi No Fraid” appeared throughout the remainder of the decade and into 2020, followed by “No Relation” in 2022.
Raised in Toronto as Jullyann Inderia Gordon, Black first drew nationwide notice in 1997 through her featured turn on the title track of Choclair’s Juno-winning What It Takes EP. The following year she issued “Rally’n” on the Ill Vibe label, which climbed to number 12 on the Canadian pop chart and earned another Juno nomination. Several more singles plus a contribution to the Brown Sugar soundtrack appeared by 2002, setting the stage for a planned 2004 debut album that ultimately remained unreleased. During this period she also appeared on Nas’ “Heaven” and co-wrote “I Know” for Destiny’s Child.
Signing with Universal Music Canada, Black issued an album every other year from 2005 to 2009. Her first, This Is Me, entered the Canadian chart at number 34 on the strength of “Sweat of My Brow,” a number-16 single, and the double A-side “5x Love”/“Material Things,” which peaked at number 30 and featured Nas on the second track. Revival, released in 2007, performed even more strongly, achieving gold status thanks in part to the number-nine cover “Seven Day Fool,” originally cut by Etta James, and the further Top 40 entry “Until I Stay.” That same year she supplied the theme for the Canadian sitcom adaptation of Da Kink in My Hair. The trilogy concluded with The Black Book in 2009, which yielded “Running,” her sixth Top 40 single as lead artist.
Once again independent, Black maintained a steady output of singles over the ensuing years. The Kardinal Offishall collaboration “Set It Off” secured another Juno nomination and served as a centerpiece for the 2012 mixtape Dropping W(8). Further singles such as “Here 2 Love U,” “Fever,” and “Mi No Fraid” appeared throughout the remainder of the decade and into 2020, followed by “No Relation” in 2022.
Albums
Singles
