Poo Bear

“Most writer's blocks come from people second-guessing to the point where they get discouraged, and they just quit. For me, if I write something and it's not amazing, I don't care because even if I feel like it might not be amazing, it could still be a number-one hit.”

“As a songwriter, I got used to being in the background.”

“For me, what makes a dope concept is it's a fresh idea, something that I've never heard before.”

“It's cool to be recognized, but it's not something that I was seeking or sought after. I never wanted to be famous.”

“Finally, I've reached a place where if I'm working with an artist, they allow me to just do whatever I feel. Growing up, it was like, 'We want another 'Peaches and Cream.' Then you realise... why would you want a 2001 Mercedes Benz when I'm making 2018 Benzes?”

“People didn't know that I existed before 'Purpose.'”

“I'm like this ghost - you look around, and all you see is the artist. But if you look at the credits, it's still Poo Bear.”

“I'm just used to working harder than everybody and other people taking the credit.”

“I love R&B because it got me to where I am today, but at the same time, R&B just doesn't sell.”

“Often by the time writers and producers try to get a new hit song, the industry has already moved on. Whatever you're creating might not be as hot as it would have been during the time of your first hit. It definitely compromises the creative process when the music is changing and evolving so fast. If you're not on top of it, you will be forgotten.”

“Working with Justin Bieber, I learned that he can literally do any genre - he's a chameleon. His voice is so flexible that he's not locked in to one genre, and it just shows the world that he can really sing anything.”

“People love music, but they also love the lifestyle and glam that comes along with it.”

“I find inspiration by feeling like I haven't done or achieved anything. I push all songs I've written to the furthest part of my mind so I am not thinking of what I've done. I continue to think on what I need to do.”

“People say to me, 'You're a genius; you're great.' I don't know if I'll ever feel that way about myself. Some things, I feel like, are better left for other people to say, and I'm just not into, like, tooting my own horn or bragging or anything.”

“I don't know about the rest of the world, but America loves redemption. They love giving people second chances.”

“I've never stopped writing, I've never slowed down just because I don't have something on the radio or a No. 1 or No. 2 record. That doesn't mean that I'm not in the studio planting seeds.”

“It's cool to have a big record, but it's even cooler for the world to love it and sing along to it in every club word-for-word. It's a real feeling.”

“Toronto is my favourite city in the world.”

“I don't want to be an artist; I don't really want to sing - though I do sing on a few songs. But I want to be the guy that presents new music from both new artists and established artists at the same time.”

“Pop music - deriving from the word 'popular' - for me, it's just great to be a part of music that reaches a large amount of people and not just a small amount of people.”