Music
Inside stories behind pop/R&B songwriter Poo Bear’s megahits for Usher, Justin Bieber and more.
When you hear the name Poo Bear, your mind might originally wander to thoughts of the loveable little stuffed animal from the Hundred Acre Wood (whose name is actually spelled “Pooh”), but you should recalibrate your brain to first think of Jason Boyd. Boyd — best known as Poo Bear to his friends and his collaborators — is one of the most prolific songwriters working in the music industry today. His words and melodies have been part of some of the biggest hits of the last two decades, and he credits his success to his ability to be truly vulnerable through music.
“I’ve been practicing being myself for so many years that now, just to be like on camera and tell my true honest feelings, it just allows me to be vulnerable,” Boyd says over the phone during a truly hectic day of meetings and interviews about his Red Bull TV documentary, “Poo Bear: Afraid of Forever.” “When I write songs I’m vulnerable and even though it might not be me singing them, it still comes from a vulnerable place. So, me saying that I’m afraid is just me being honest and I’ve just been practicing being honest with myself and with people who know me and those who don’t know me. I just want to be honest and not being worried about anything. It allows me to be myself to the fullest.”
We recently caught up with Boyd who filled us in on what he’s currently working on (Cough, new J. Lo, cough.) and to get a deeper look into five of his biggest records.
1. DJ Khaled, Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne: “I’m the One”
“Justin Bieber reached out to me and said that DJ Khalid had a record that he wanted him to do. So Justin said ‘Hey let's try to knock this out and try to do our own version of it.’ And this all happened in a day. Justin sent it to me and we were vibing on it and we ended up cutting it really fast, Khalid heard it and went crazy. He sent it out to Chance the Rapper and Quavo and Lil Wayne and now we look up and we’re number one! So it’s a blessing and it happened so fast! That record was only a month and a half to two months ago. We were just holding it for the right time.”
2. Usher: “Caught Up”
“Caught Up” was an amazing experience. I wanted to make that record with Ryan [Toby], Dre & Vidal and we did it all together. To us, Usher at that time was moving being into the next Michael Jackson coming off of “My Way” and “8701” so we wanted to make something that we thought Michael Jackson could do and sing. And Usher initially didn’t hear it, he wasn’t really sure about it, and then came around and heard it and it was like ended up being his fifth single and was a really big record for him and for all of us. So we had Michael Jackson in mind when we came up with this record and usher really delivered. That was another great moment on an album that went on to sell 25 million records worldwide. We did caught up, superstar and come follow me, so it was a blessing to be a part of that double diamond-selling album.”
3. Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee: “Despacito” (Remix) feat. Justin Bieber
“Right now I’m No. 1 and No. 2. “Despacito” was in Europe and South American and Justin heard this and was like ‘Yo, I want to remix that.” So on April 10 they called me and I went in the studio and came up with a couple ideas for Justin and he went in in south America and finished it up and it came out and it was huge! There hasn’t been a record this huge since the “Macarena” in the hot 100, a Spanglish record since the “Macarena,” which was 1996. I was just grateful and appreciative to be included in that song because it was already a hit record; we just remixed it and made it an even bigger record. It was like the fastest turnaround ever.”
4. Jack Ü (Skrillex, Diplo, Justin Bieber): “Where Are U Now”
“We originally did that song with a piano chorus and we ended up turning it into a really special record. Scooter sent it out to Diplo and Skrillex and they came back and they were working on Jack Ü and what they sent back, I was blown away. I had a tear in my eye. If this really goes out into the world, I think the world is going to accept this really well. And this was a really special song because it was before Justin and his fans and the media, they were treating him so bad and tearing him down and that record was a turning point for his career. I was just blessed to be a part of when all the people hating on him came out of the woodwork to be his fans again and when he could sell out stadiums again and arenas. To me, that’s one of the most important songs that I’ve ever been a part of because it was Justin Bieber’s comeback record.”
5. 112: “Peaches and Cream”
“Mmm! 2000, I was 20 years old and I was really hungry at that time. I was in-between and I didn’t really have any money and I was literally physically hungry at that time and I went into the studio and 112 was really into it, but Puffy was kind of unsure. He was like “Man, this is a little risky, a little edgy for 112, but do you really love it?” and I was like “I really love it” so it worked out. It worked out and it was their biggest song in their whole career. It’s still played everywhere! It’s crazy. It just brings me back when I hear it to a time when I was struggling, but a lot of good came out of that struggle.”
