James Poyser

James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots.[5][6]

James Poyser
Poyser at the Black Lily Film & Music Festival 2007
Poyser at the Black Lily Film & Music Festival 2007
Background information
Birth nameJames Jason Poyser[1]
Also known as
  • Soul Glo
  • I Don't Want Any Trouble, I Just Want to Get Paid
  • I Gotta Eat
  • Make Sure I Get Credit For This
  • Y'all Goin to Pay Me, Right?
  • Downtown Jimmy Brown
  • Jimmy Baseball[2]
OriginPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Songwriter
  • Record Producer
  • Musician
Instrument(s)
Years active1993–present
Member ofThe Roots
Formerly of

Career

Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists including the likes of Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Rihanna, Lauryn Hill, Common, Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo, the Roots, Jill Scott, Al Green, Emeli Sandé, Talib Kweli, Big Sean, Andra Day and many others.

During his career, Poyser has toured and played live with such distinctive artists as:The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Cece Peniston, Jay-Z, Usher, Queen Latifah, D'Angelo, Elvis Costello, Hezekiah Walker, Aretha Franklin and more.

An active session musician, he has contributed to the works of music stars such as Adele, Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, Nas, Ziggy Marley, Citizen Cope, Yebba, Snoh Aalegra, and Femi Kuti among others.

His work in film include scoring the movies, (Oscar winning, Best Live Action Short Film) Two Distant Strangers, Boxing Day, Totally Awesome, contributing music and arrangements to the score of Fame, Dave Chappelle's Block Party, Netflix's The Harder They Fall and the upcoming The Book Of Clarence. He also scored the Hulu docu-series, The 1619 Project and the WNBA documentary, Unfinished Business, as well as being a co-composer on the CBS hit show,The Equalizer. James also contributed music to the TV shows The Chappelle Show, Black-ish as well as the theme songs for Wyatt Cenac's Problem Areas, Hawthorne, and The Break with Michelle Wolf.

Poyser received a Grammy for Best R&B Song in 2003 for co-writing/producing Erykah Badu and Common's hit "Love of My Life."[7] He was also the executive producer on Badu's highly celebrated albums, Mama's Gun and Worldwide Underground. He also received 2 Grammys, including Best R&B album, for producing John Legend's Wake Up! album in 2010. And along with his production partner, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, he produced the Al Green album Lay it Down, which won 2 Grammys in 2008.

A collaborator with the band dating back to Things Fall Apart, Poyser officially joined The Roots in 2009, composing and performing live as the house band for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and subsequently The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He is sometimes used as comic foil, especially for his use of deadpan facial expressions, in the popular recurring sketch, "Thank-You Notes". Poyser also tours with the band and regularly performs at the band's live shows.

Discography

Production and songwriting

As session musician

Film and television

References
  1. "ACE Repertory".
  2. "James Poyser". Discogs.
  3. Cochrane, Naima (26 March 2020). "2000: A Soul Odyssey". Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  4. "James Poyser on working with The Roots, Common, Erykah and Kanye". Red Bull Music Academy Daily. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  5. Relic, Peter (October 2000). Keys to the city. p. 128. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. "Interviews". Alive.co.uk. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  7. James Poyser Interview with Soul Jones 2006
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