POISON

"Poison"
is a 1990 single by the New Edition spinoff
group, Bell Biv DeVoe. This song—in the style of New Jack Swing, a late-80s hybrid of R&B and hip hop—was the group's most successful, and sings of the
dangers of falling in love. "Poison" was the first single taken from
Bell Biv DeVoe's debut album as its title track.

While the song samples from hip
hop (Kool G. Rap's "Poison"), the lines "Never trust
a big butt and a smile" and "The J, the I, the M, the M, The Y"
(originally from Boogie Down Production's 1988 classic "Jimmy")
reflected a new era of AIDS consciousness and would quickly become a staple of
hip hop. In the outro, BBD gives shout-outs to their former New Edition
bandmates, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill.

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. The single also peaked at number
one on the Hot Black Singles chart for two weeks.^[1]"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 peaked at number seven on the
dance charts^[2]. "Poison" was certified platinum by the
RIAA on June 1, 1990 for sales of over one million copies.

It has been used in film (Pootie Tang, Pineapple
Express), television (A Different World, It's Always
Sunny in Philadelphia, Scrubs, Glee), and video games (2004's Grand Theft
Auto: San Andreas, on New Jack Swing radio
station CSR 103.9,
2009's DJ Hero,
2010's Dance Central). It is also referenced in theMadvillain song,
"Fancy Clown". "Poison" was named #60 on VH1's
100 Greatest Songs of the 90's.