Jully Black Biography
Jully Black,born Jullyann Inderia Gordon; November 8, 1977,is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She has collaborated and written for many artists, including Nas, Saukrates, Choclair, Kardinal Offishall, Destiny’s Child and Sean Paul. Black was born to Jamaican immigrants, Black is the youngest of seven children and grew up in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto, Ontario. After her parents divorced when Black was young, she was raised in a strict Pentecostal household by her single mother, Aretha.
Jully Black Career
Black was discovered by Warner/Chappel Publishing who immediately signed her, at the age of 21. She was courted by Universal Music Canada shortly after, where she was offered a deal to help propel her career. Black capitalized on these opportunities, which saw her garnish her first Juno Award nomination in 1997 and continue to be nominated almost every year thereafter as well as having the opportunities to collaborate with and/or write for other well-known artists such as Nas, Destiny’s Child, Sean Paul, Kardinal Official and many others.
Black had a Top 40 hit on the Canadian charts with 1998’s “Rally’n”. Subsequent singles also charted, such as “You Changed” and “Between Me and U”. That same year, she was invited to contribute to Rascalz’ groundbreaking hip hop single, “Northern Touch”, but, was unable to participate due to other commitments. Her debut album was originally scheduled for release in 2003 on MCA Records, under the title I Traveled. however, was shelved after MCA folded that same year.
This Is Me, a newly recorded album, was released by Universal Music Canada in Summer of 2005 . The album included the hit singles “Sweat of Your Brow” and “5x Love”. According to a piracy report by IFPI there were “2.8 million illegal file swapping requests for her music in the first two weeks of her album’s release”. Black played the Preacher in the theatre production of “Da Kink in My Hair” at the Princess of Wales Theatre in that same year . The play was a critical success as it sold out all of its 106 performances, being extended 5 times. This led to the weekly TV series on the Global Television Network, with Black singing the opening theme and featured two episodes.
A new single, “Seven Day Fool”, was released, in Summer 2007, becoming Black’s first Top 10 hit in Canada. Her second album, Revival, was released on October 16, 2007, and was awarded the Juno for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, where she performed the song live. Black was a correspondent on the sixth season of Canadian Idol and hosted the 2008 Canadian Radio Music Awards. She has also been a celebrity reporter for the CTV daily entertainment news magazine, etalk. Black is also a featured weekly guest panelist on the CTV daytime talk show, The Marilyn Denis Show, and has been a multiple presenter at both the 2010 and 2011 P&G Beauty & Grooming Awards.
Jully Black Photo
In the year 2009, Black, with YoungPete Alexander and Kellis E. Parker, wrote and released her third studio album, The Black Book. Following its release, Black kicked off a country-wide tour in Vancouver at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Black and YoungPete created a new production team known as “The Officials” in 2011. Together, they’ve written and produced songs on upcoming album, tentatively titled: Made In Canada.
“At the Roncies”a new song by Black, about the Roncesvalles Avenue neighbourhood of Toronto , was the song chosen by listeners to represent the province in CBC Radio 2’s Great Canadian Song Quest , in the year 2010. Black was selected to perform and open for Celine Dion at the 2012 Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival honouring Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary of Independence in 2012. Black was nominated for a 2012 Juno Award for ‘Best R&B/Soul Recording’ for her song “Set It Off” featuring Kardinal Offishall. That same year, Black released an EP, Dropping W(8), a reference to her having these songs and feeling a weight on her shoulders.
Jully Black Albums
- I Travelled (Unreleased)
- 2005: This Is Me
- 2007: Revival
- 2009: The Black Book
Jully Black Awards and nominations
- 2013: Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year “Fugitive”
- 2012: Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year “Set It Off” f. Kardinal Offishal
- 2010: Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year “The Black Book”
- 2008: Single of the Year, “Seven Day Fool”
- 2008: R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, “Revival”
- 2006: Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, “Sweat of Your Brow”
- 2006: Gemini Award for Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series for: Words to Music: The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame 2006
- 2005: Canadian Urban Music Award (CUMA) for Dance/Electronic Recording of the Year, “Sweat of Your Brow” (Tricky Moreira
- 2004: Gemini Award for Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series for: Tonya Lee Williams: Gospel Jubilee
- 2003: Juno Award for “Best R&B/Soul Song”, “You Changed”
- 2002: Much Music Video Award Viewers Choice for Best Canadian Collaboration or Group, “The Day Before”
- 2002: Much Music Video Award for “Best Rap Video”, “Light It Up”
- 2001: Juno Award for “Best Rap recording”, “Money Jane”
- 1999: Much Music Video Award for “Best R&B/Soul Video”. “Rally’n”
- 1999: Juno Award for “Best R&B/Soul Song”. “Rally’n”
- 1998: Much Music Video Award for “Best Rap Video”, “360”
- 1997: Juno Award for “Best Rap Recording”, “What It Takes”
Jully Black Filmography
- 2012: CTV’s Canada AM (Duet with Donny Parenteau, Alright With Me)
- 2012: CTV’s The Marilyn Denis Show (Fugitive)
- 2012: CBC Canada Day Celebration (O Canada/Seven Days Fool)
- 2010: CTV’s “Juno Awards”, Presenter/Performer
- 2010: Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies
- 2004: CBC’s NHL Awards
- 2004: CBC’s Tonya Lee Williams Gospel Jubilee
- 2004: Show Time/Soul Food Productions Presents “We Plan” Episode #064. Role, Jully Black
- 2004: MuchMusic Presents “Behind the Threads” an up-close look at the women of the Garment industry. Jully Black travels to Dhaka, Bangladesh to cover the story
- 2003: Toronto 1 Live Performance
- 2003: MTV’s “Break Out”
- 2003: CTV’s “Juno Award Presentation”. Presented Shania Twain the “Artist of the Year” Award
- 2001: Citytv’s New Years Celebration
- 2001: MuchMusic’s “9/11” Music Tribute and Fund Raiser
- 2001: MuchMusic’s “Da Mix” Final Episode
- 2001: CBC’s “Juno Award Presentation”
- 2000: MuchMusic’s “Da Mix” Tenth Year Anniversary Special
- 1999: MuchMusic’s “Da Mix” Black History Celebration
- 1998: Citytv’s “Electric Circus”
- 1997: Citytv’s “Breakfast Television”
Jully Black Twitter
Tweets by JullyBlack
Jully Black Video
Jully Black News
Jully Black on how Aretha Franklin ‘gave me hope’
Updated On: 16th August 2018
Source: https://www.thestar.com
Hearing the powerful voice of Aretha Franklin over the airwaves of 1980s pop radio left a permanent impression on Canadian singer Jully Black.
Hardly 8 years old at the time, Black remembers even at that age she recognized the rarity of a Black woman being played on a Top 40 radio station in Toronto.
“To hear a soulful voice come through gave me hope,” she says.
“Right here in Canada, I was hearing this voice that I knew wasn’t from here — but I knew I could do that too. As young as I was, that was the beginning.”
Franklin, who is synonymous with her title as the “Queen of Soul,” died on Thursday in Detroit from pancreatic cancer. She was 76.
“She leaned in, always. I believe she didn’t look at herself as ‘good for a woman.’ I think she just recognized that she was powerful,” Black told the Star’s Ben Rayner on Thursday. “And to know that she was able to sing at the funeral for Dr. Martin Luther King and then, 40-plus years later, sing at the inauguration of the first Black president (Barack Obama), that is longevity. That is endurance.”
Black says her sisters were loyal fans of Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 radio show where Franklin’s mid-1980s hits “Freeway of Love” and “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” would have made appearances.
Those songs encouraged her to learn more about Franklin’s roots as the daughter of a church pastor, which Black felt paralleled her own experience as the daughter of a deacon. She supposes they might have shared a few viewpoints on the music industry.
“There are times where we’ve had to pass up things because it didn’t align with our faith, with our integrity,” Black says.
“That’s where the church always stayed with me and I believe that’s where the church stayed with her.”
Over her career, Franklin proved a musical versatility that challenged definition.
While she forged an early career in Motown with hits like “Chain of Fools” and “Respect,” she was also a steadfast gospel singer who played piano on a whim. Her career’s many chapters included a pop resurgence in duets with 1980s figures like George Michael and Annie Lennox and being the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Franklin held the seemingly universal admiration of her peers.
Celine Dion called sharing the stage with the vocal powerhouse on VH1’s 1998 Divas Live one of the greatest moments of her career.
“She was an unbelievable artist who inspired me and millions of others,” Dion posted Thursday on Facebook.
“She was the most soulful and inspirational singer of our time … there will never be anyone like her.”
Dan Aykroyd, who spent time with Franklin on the set of both Blues Brothers movies, tweeted that he recalled “happy memories” of her.
“The Queen had a wry, skeptical eye on the world but once you got her laughing you were in,” he wrote.
“What a voice! What a soul.”
Her extensive music catalog also made Franklin’s songs frequent candidates for covers.
Toronto R&B singer Melanie Fiona says she performed 1971’s “Rock Steady” on tour years ago. She considered it a high point of the show, but attests that covering one of Franklin’s songs is never easy.
“It’s big shoes to fill,” she says.
“You’re kind of diving in with the sharks because if you mess it up … your head’s on the chopping block. When you’re that great, like Aretha, you’ve got to do it justice.”
Fiona credits Franklin with inspiring her own career and those of her idols, such as Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.
“As a singer I feel such a great sense of loss,” she says.
“That’s the mother of these voices.”