ANNOUNCING: YMP MENTORSHIP 2026 LINEUP
This year's mentorship lineup is stacked. We're conducting sessions with:
➡ Widney Bonfils, Universal Music Canada
➡ Chass Bryan, Of All Time Management
➡ Melissa Bubb-Clarke, Live Nation
➡ Matthew Gorman, Gorman Entertainment Law
➡ Neesha Hothi, Neesh Communications
➡ Jason "Redz" Reynolds, ReynJer Music/Soundbox Productions
NEW THIS YEAR: AMA HOURS
In addition to our regularly scheduled lineup, we have experts conducting AMA (Ask Me Anything) Hours via our Slack workroom. Featuring:
➡️ Omar Lodge, When I Grow Up Management
➡️ Byron Pascoe, Edwards Creative Law
Get questions answered, uncover solutions, and learn from your peers’ experiences—all online and in real time.
HOW YMP MENTORSHIP WORKS:
You must be a YMP member to participate. Conducted via 1-hour digital meetings to maximize access from coast to coast to coast, each session will be capped at 7 YMP members. Mentors will speak about their specialties and lead group conversation.
Registration: Registration for each session will open approximately 2 weeks before the session date. Stay tuned to the YMP Slack workroom, member portal, and socials for upcoming dates and registration instructions. Schedule coming soon.
Mentees will be admitted on a first come, first served basis, with attention paid to their rationale to ensure opportunities are being accessed by those working or seeking work in applicable fields.
Happy Birthday Redz!
I honour you today
as a friend,
as the brother I never had active in my life,
as a husband,
as a father,
as a man of faith,
world class engineer,
and the best manager I’ve had in 30 years.
Every accolade with my name on it
has your fingerprints on it too.
I believe in you. I’m proud of you.
I’m ready to win with you.
I celebrate your life today and every day.
But let’s take it back.
Three years in, and we’ve already lived a lifetime of lessons.
When we started, I wasn’t booking one hard ticket.
Three years later, we rocked a national tour in 2025,
a national tour in 2026,
and we’re gearing up for 2027.
We won’t stop until we’re selling out arenas.
Now it’s keynotes, TV, film, a memoir in motion,
and a doctorate on the way.
We didn’t just represent.
We chose to re represent.
You helped rebuild the team to match who I am today.
Jully Black Valentine.
You carefully selected the people behind the instruments,
the people behind the microphones,
the people behind the agency,
and the people in the studios.
Everyone had to align
and coexist with the small circle
still standing from the beginning of my career.
That is not easy.
But you did it.
Not every decision was easy.
I’m loyal to a fault.
But growth demands truth.
You helped me face that,
take responsibility,
and get my career moving again
the way it was always meant to.
You didn’t just support.
You amplified.
You’ve had my back. I’ve had yours.
Hard conversations. Big wins. Real trust.
Two Jamaican kids, locking elbows,
walking out our parents’ wildest dreams.
Thank you for creating space for me
to become the best version of myself.
For staying humble.
For being open.
For doing the work.
We’re not done. Not even close.
Happy Earth Strong.
Love, JBV
⸻
I’m still pinching myself… that this June 19, on Juneteenth, I will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the prestigious Wilfrid Laurier University.
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved Black Americans were finally told they were free. A day of delayed freedom. A day of truth, resilience, and legacy.
So to receive this honour on that day… it means more.
It’s moments like this that remind me… the race is not for the swift, but for those who endure.
I completed my post secondary education at Seneca College, graduating with honours from the law enforcement program. I am proud of that. I did not have the theory. I did not fit the system. So I took a different road.
And I walked it anyway.
This one is for my mother, born Agatha McPherson.
She had to drop out of George Brown College to raise her children and later step in to raise my late sister Sharon’s children after she passed. She chose family over her dream. Strong. Steady. Unshakable.
This dream reminds me of my song
I Travelled.
“They closed so many doors on me, but I climbed right through the window.”
All I have to do is keep believing.
And that is what I want for you too.
Keep going. Keep trusting God. Keep believing.
And to anyone who has added a stitch to the quilt of Jully Black… from six years old singing in church to 48… thank you.
If you challenged me, mentored me, stood by me, or even walked away… I am grateful for every experience.
As I step into this new season, I pray for healing in every place that still needs it. I pray this doctorate is not the last chapter… but the first page of a new book.
A special thank you to the voting committee. To whoever spoke my name in a room I was not in… thank you.
Thank you to Chancellor Nadir Patel, the Senate committee, Vice President Deborah MacLatchy, Josh Manuel for taking my call when I thought the email was a scam lol , and everyone who helped bring this to life. I am deeply grateful.
Dr. Jully Black Valentine.
#DrJBV #JullyBlack
I’ve known about this for a while and couldn’t say anything till now. My friend and client @missjullyblack is being honoured with and HONORARY DOCTORATE IN MUSIC by @wilfridlaurieruni this June!! DOCTOR JULLY IN THE BUILDING!! I’m so proud of this woman. She continues to OBLITERATE boundaries and redefine what’s possible for young black women andgirls who have a dream of being in music. @missjullyblack I am so grateful to walk beside you on this journey. DOCTOR JULLY TO RAHTID!!!!!
A week later and I’m still processing.
This journey isn’t just the big stages and bright lights. It’s the highs and the lows. The 3am moments where you question everything and the ones where it suddenly clicks again.
But I never stopped showing up. Not once. Even on the days the dream felt like it was done with me, I wasn’t done with it.
Styled By @sharonangelastyles
Makeup by @debraguthriemua
📸 @oshane.howard
#JullyBlack #Junos #CanadianMusic #BlackArtist #CanadianArtist
As we wrap up our last weekend in Arkansas with the @fpcnlr team doing the I AM musical has been such a life changing experience! What an incredible gesture by @engineer_redz to have professional tour style laminates made for the entire production crew who are 100% volunteer based to have as a keepsake in memory of such an impactful 6 weeks of working with them! 🙌
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” - Mahatma Gandhi
I AM the indomitable will
Styled by @sharonangelastyles
Makeup by @debraguthriemua
📸 @thejunoawards
#JullyBlack #BlackDiamonds #CanadianMusic #CanadianArtist #Strength
Calgary… that room was NEXT LEVEL. 🔥
There are certain crowds you just connect with. You can feel it immediately. The love, the openness, the energy moving back and forth between the stage and the room.
Festival Hall was that place.
Thank you for showing up the way you did. Thank you for receiving the music, the stories, the spirit of the night.
I felt you. Truly.
Calgary, I can’t wait to come back. 💛
🎥 @yanicmb
Styling by @sharonangelastyles
#JullyBlackLiveExperience #JullyBlack #LiveMusic #CanadianMusic #Calgary
Victoria… what a night. 💛
We had the incredible @radigya setting the tone as always, and the talented @iamcalebhart opening and then joining us on stage for a special moment.
What an honour to meet him and share the stage together.
These are the moments that make this journey so special, artists coming together, music filling the room, and a crowd that shows up with so much love.
Victoria, we felt you. 🔥
🎥 @yanicmb
Styling @sharonangelastyles
#JullyBlackLiveExperience #JullyBlack #LiveMusic #CanadianMusic #Victoria
