^ a b "Key Tracks: Bell Biv DeVoe's Poison".
^ a b "Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic".It takes place at a club, an old basketball court and a schoolyard. The official music video for the song was directed by Lionel C. "Poison" was certified platinum by the RIAA on Jfor sales of over one million copies. The single peaked at number seven on the dance charts. Justin Timberlake ’s 2013 performance of Bell Biv DeVoe’s 1990 hit Poison is making the rounds on social media once more, and we don’t hate it In the fun clip taken at the. "Poison" became one of the most successful singles of 1990 (see 1990 in music), and was a staple on MTV and mainstream radio in the summer, spending ten weeks in the Top 10. The single also peaked at number one on the Hot Black Singles chart for two weeks. On the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, "Poison" rose from number fifty-two to number thirty-eight in the week of April 14, 1990, and eventually peaked at number three for four consecutive weeks, beginning on June 9, 1990. I ended up having two songs on the album: 'Poison' and 'She's Dope!'." Straite cited German electronic group Kraftwerk and Latin musicians Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria as influences on the song's sound and production. I was thinking I wasn't going to be on the album because such heavyweights were already on it. They stand by a graffitied wall with a few friends. Ricky, Michael, Ronnie and several young men dance in the club. Two young men rub Ricky’s arms as he sings into the microphone in the studio. Several young women stand by the brick building on the sidewalk at night. When I wrote it as a song, I let a lot of my friends hear it, and they said it was weird. A young woman writes Poison on the glass. I didn't think that record was going to be that big because it was a personal love letter to my ex-girlfriend at the time. Straite had originally planned to feature the song on his own album, but plans changed when the members of Bell Biv DeVoe heard his demo version. The song was written and produced by Elliot Straite, AKA Dr.