Erik Rico facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Erik Rico
Erik Rico in London, 2009
Background information
Born	North Carolina, U.S.
Died	October 19, 2025
Genres	Soul, house, dancehall, reggae, electro, hip hop, nu jazz, experimental
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, songwriter, producer, DJ, label owner
Instruments	Guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboard, drums, percussion
Years active	1997–2025
Labels	LifeNotes Music, Columbia, ClubStar Ibiza, Tokyo Dawn, SoulfulBeats

Erik Rico was an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and DJ. He was known for his work in various music styles like soul, house, and hip hop. Erik Rico passed away on October 19, 2025.

Erik Rico's Musical Journey

Early Life and Start in Music

Erik Rico was born in North Carolina, U.S. He grew up spending time in both North Carolina and New York. His musical career began to take off in 1997. He signed with Columbia Records, a big music company, thanks to executive Randy Jackson.

Working with Other Artists

Erik Rico was a talented writer and producer. He created music for many well-known artists. These included groups like Jurassic 5 and 4th Avenue Jones. He also worked with individual artists such as Planet Asia and Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets. In 2001, he helped create music for a special album. This album was called The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur. For this project, he worked with artists like Q-Tip and Jasmine Guy. Besides producing, Erik Rico was also a DJ. He even worked as a sound designer for famous artist and photographer David LaChapelle.

Music Ambassador Program

From 2007 to 2011, Erik Rico traveled the world. He was part of the Hip Hop Ambassador program. This program was supported by the United States' State Department. The goal was to share positive examples of African American musicians. He toured countries like Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Indonesia. This helped people around the world learn about American music and culture.

Later Music and Legacy

On August 1, 2013, Erik Rico released an album called Love's Dance Vol. 1. This album featured many different kinds of dance music. Erik Rico passed away on October 19, 2025. He left behind a rich legacy of music and collaborations.

Erik Rico's Music Releases

A discography is a list of all the music an artist has released. Erik Rico released many albums and singles throughout his career.

Albums

• Life in Volcanoes - This album was by Povi (Carmen Rizzo). Erik Rico helped produce and write songs for it (Nettwerk Records, 2000).
• The Rose that Grew from Concrete - An album by Tupac Shakur. Erik Rico was a producer and writer (Amaru/Interscope Records, 2001).
• No plan B - An album by 4th Avenue Jones. Erik Rico helped produce and write (Look Alive/Interscope Records, 2002).
• Still in Training - By Planet Asia. Erik Rico was a producer and co-writer (Liquor Barrell, 2003).
• Journey Back To Me (LifeNotes Music, 2007)
• Higher Frequency (LifeNotes Music, 2009)
• Love's Dance, Vol. 1 (LifeNotes Music, 2013)

Singles (Individual Songs)

Erik Rico also released many individual songs, often collaborating with other artists:

• "Do Re Mi" - by 4th Avenue Jones (Interscope Records, 2002)
• "The Life - Remix" - by Mystic (Goodvibe/Interscope Recordings, 2003)
• "Linguistics" - by Jurassic 5 (Up Above Records, 2005)
• "Sometimes" - by Ladybug Mecca (Digable Planets) (Nu Paradigm Entertainment, 2005)
• "Coming Up" - by Dave Ghetto (Counterflow Recordings, 2005)
• "Wonderful" - Erik Rico's own song (Columbia Records Japan, 2007)
• "Melody" - with DJ Spinna & Erik Rico (Highwater, 2009)
• "Sweetest Taboo" - a version by Sade/Erik Rico (LifeNotes Music, 2009)
• "Special Kind of Fool" - by TY, featuring Erik Rico (BBE Records, 2010)
• "Sensation" - with Ron Trent & Erik Rico (FutureVision Records, 2010)
• "Everybody" - by Grooveman Spot, featuring Erik Rico (Planet Groove/Jazzy Sport Japan, 2010)
• "Just Love" - Erik Rico/Marc Mac (4hero) featured on the compilation The Heart Vol. 2 (Tokyo Dawn Records, 2011)
• "Our World" - Opolopo (Deep house remix) (Tokyo Dawn Records, 2011)
• "My Prayer" - Erik Rico's own song (LifeNotes Music, 2012)
• "Under The Sun" - with Missoles (ManyVibes Music, 2012)
• "Babylon" - by LifeNotes Sound System (LifeNotes Music, 2012)
• "So ..." - by Gus, featuring Erik Rico (LifeNotes Music, 2013)
• "Dance With Me" - with Nicolas Vautier (ClubStar, 2013)
• "Start This Party" - by R. Schneider, featuring Erik Rico (Epoque Music, 2013)
• "So Divine" - Erik Rico's own song (LifeNotes Music, 2013)
• "Penny" - Erik Rico's own song (LifeNotes Music, 2013)
• "Grown Man Hustle" - by Shabaam Sahdeeq featuring Erik Rico (Below System Records, 2014)
• "Through The Night" - by Jonna lliffe, featuring Erik Rico (City Fly/Shadeleaf, 2016)

Erik Rico in Film and TV

Erik Rico's music was also featured in television and film projects:

• They Call Me Sirr (The Sirr Parker Story) - A film shown on the Showtime Network in 2003.
• Night at the Grand Star - A documentary that was part of a PBS original series in 2003.