Super-songwriter Rico Love parks his weary body on his patio in South Beach overlooking the spectacular blue expanse that is the Atlantic Ocean. At the end of a long day assembling hits, the prolific hit maker is able bathe in this bastion of abundance and opulence and ruminate over several likely thoughts:
That he sprang so quickly out of obscurity to be chosen to pen the theme song for the outrageously popular Sex and The City movie.
That he has A-list musicians on speed dial, including those he sculpted hits for like Beyonce, Usher, Chris Brown and Mario.
How sweet it was to receive a Grammy Award for production work on the pop anthem “Sweet Dreams” for Beyoncé’s I Am … Sasha Fierce album.
The unforgettable thrill of writing his first song, “Throwback,” for superstar Usher’s diamond-selling Confessions album, then performing with him on tour.
That he received a phone call from the one and only Sean “Diddy” Combs who wanted to mine that treasure chest of skills buried in Rico’s soul. “I did a lot of big things in my short career but that phone call was like the culmination,” says the songwriter, artist and producer who grew up idolizing the hip-hop impresario. “That was like to say, ‘Oh, you made it. You’re officially here because Diddy is calling you.’ It was a big moment.”
The contrast between this R&R spot and his former one on the couch of fellow ATL producers as an ext-FAMU journalism student is vast.
Richard Butler Jr., subsisted on a steady diet of Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye while shuffling back and forth between his mother’s and father’s homes in Milwaukee, Wis., and New York. After being introduced to rap as a teen, he found that it came as natural to him as breathing and blinking. “I started writing raps and I got better at it. I knew I wasn’t a regular kid. It came so natural for me,” says the man
“I said, ‘I’m [going] to go to school instead of just sitting on the block.’ If I hadn’t gone to college I would’ve been a drug dealer.”
Now Rico is a dealer of hit songs and innovative business transactions, with an eye towards his childhood idol. “I want to position myself to be a mogul,” he says. “I just want to be what people think of when they think of music, when they think of fashion, just everything that has to do with entertainment.” –terry shropshire
