Jason Boyd (songwriter)

Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd (September 4, 1978)^[1] is an American songwriter, record producer, and vocal producer. He is best known for being one of Justin Bieber's main collaborators, having co-written many of Bieber's hits (including Where Are Ü Now, What Do You Mean?, PYD, Hold Tight and All That Matters), and for co-writing the song Caught Up from Usher's Diamond-certified album Confessions.

Early years

Boyd was born in 1978 in Connecticut. He moved with his mother to Atlanta at age 9, after a tornado left them homeless.^[2] His first career breakthrough came from working with R&B group 112, for whom he composed the songs Dance With Me and Peaches & Cream.^[3]

Career

After his success with 112, in the early 2000s Boyd worked with artists Blu Cantrell and Jill Scott.^[4] In 2004, Usher's album Confessions was released, containing the single Caught Up, which Boyd co-wrote with Ryan Toby and producers Dre & Vidal. The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA, selling over 10 million copies in the US,^[5] and is largely considered as one of the best albums of the decade.^[6][7][8] Caught Up was the fifth single released from the album, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100

For the rest of the 2000s, Boyd continued to work with many of the top artists in R&B and Hip-Hop, including Big Boi, Ameriie, Ludacris, and Chris Brown.^[9]

While in Las Vegas in January 2013, Boyd was introduced to Justin Bieber through rapper Lil Twist and other friends of Bieber's. The two bonded over similar upbringings and tastes in music, and traveled the world together while working on music for Bieber's album. During this time, Boyd eschewed working with other artists, devoting his time exclusively to Bieber.^[10] He co-wrote the majority of the songs on Bieber's albums Journals and Purpose, including No Pressure (where he is also credited as producer), PYD, All That Matters, and the double-platinum selling singles Where Are Ü Now (#8 Billboard Hot 100) and What Do You Mean? (#1 Billboard Hot 100).

Partial songwriting discography

• Dance With Me and Peaches & Cream - 112 (from the album Part III, 2001)
• Round Up - Blu Cantrell (from the album Bittersweet, 2003)
• My Petition - Jill Scott (from the album Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2, 2004)
• Caught Up - Usher (from the album Confessions, 2004)
• My Chrome and Lovin' This - Big Boi (from the album Got Purp? Vol. 2, 2005)
• Just Like Me - Amerie (from the album Touch, 2005)
• Work and Comeback - Kelly Rowland (from the album Ms. Kelly, 2007)
• I Can Transform Ya, What I Do and Fallin Down - Chris Brown (from the album Graffiti, 2009)
• I Don't Wanna Care Right Now, Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways) and Coming Up - Lupe Fiasco (from the album Lasers, 2011)
• Bitch Bad - Lupe Fiasco (from the album Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1, 2012)
• All That Matters, Hold Tight, Recovery, Bad Day, All Bad, PYD, Change Me and Swap It Out - Justin Bieber (from the album Journals, 2013)
• Where Are Ü Now, What Do You Mean?, Mark My Words, Company, No Pressure, Life Is Worth Living, Children and Purpose - Justin Bieber (from the album Purpose, 2015)
• Little More (Royalty) - Chris Brown (from the album Royalty, 2015)

References