Rico Love facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rico Love
|
|
|---|---|
Rico Love in 2010
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Preston Butler Jr. |
| Born | December 3, 1982 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Origin | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels |
|
| Children | 2 |
Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), known as Rico Love, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, and music producer. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He spent his childhood in both Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Harlem, New York City.
Rico Love started his music journey while attending Florida A&M University. He met singer Usher in Atlanta. Usher became a big supporter and frequent partner in Rico Love's career.
Rico Love's first major songwriting success was Usher's 2004 song, "Throwback". This song was on Usher's album Confessions, which won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Rico Love also won Grammys for his work on Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce and Usher's Raymond v. Raymond. He helped write many popular R&B songs, including Usher's "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)", Nelly's "Just a Dream", and Beyoncé's "Sweet Dreams". He has worked with many famous artists like Kelly Rowland, Chris Brown, and Fergie.
As a singer and rapper, Rico Love has released two studio albums: TTLO (2015) and Even Kings Die (2018). His song "They Don't Know" even appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2010, he started his own record label, Division1.
Contents
Rico Love's Early Life and Music Start
Rico Love was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. His parents separated when he was young. Because of this, he grew up in two different cities. He lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his mother and in Harlem, New York City, with his father.
His mother encouraged him to write poetry when he was a child. Rico Love wrote his own poems and joined the African American Children's Theater. There, he recited poems by Langston Hughes and acted. He started writing his own poems before he discovered rap music as a teenager. By the end of high school, he decided to pursue a career in rap. He also planned to go to college at the same time.
College Days and First Big Break
While at Florida A&M University, Rico Love kept working on his music. He won many rap battles and talent shows. On weekends, he would travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to use its recording studios. Atlanta was a popular place for music.
In Atlanta, Rico Love met members of the group Jagged Edge. They helped him develop his songwriting skills. Rico Love eventually left college due to an administrative error. He then lived with local Atlanta producers called the Corna Boyz. This led to a chance for him to rap on a remix for Usher.
Usher liked Rico Love's work on the remix. He later signed Rico Love to his record labels, US Records and J Records. Usher asked Rico Love to write lyrics for a song. This song became "Throwback" and was on Usher's hugely successful Confessions album. After this, Rico Love toured with Usher. He met many important people in the music industry. Usher encouraged him to become a songwriter. Soon, artists like Chris Brown and Omarion asked Rico Love to write songs for them.
Rico Love has two children: a son named Carys Preston and a daughter named Believe Beyond.
Rico Love's Music Career
As a Solo Artist
Rico Love is known as both a singer and a rapper when he performs his own music. Usher asked him to help with the soundtrack for the movie In the Mix. Rico Love contributed songs like "Settle Down" and "Sweat," which featured Usher.
In 2007, Rico Love recorded a solo album called The 5th Element. However, he decided to focus more on songwriting and producing for others. He didn't release the album. Even when he wasn't releasing his own albums, Rico Love still added his voice and rhymes to other artists' songs. He has been a guest artist on tracks by Fat Joe, Jamie Foxx, and T.I..
After a break from his solo career, Rico Love released an extended play (EP) called Discrete Luxury in 2014. This EP reached number 48 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The first song from the EP, "They Don't Know," was his highest-charting single as a solo artist. It reached number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2015, Rico Love announced his first official studio album, Turn The Lights On. It was released on May 19, 2015. The album featured production from well-known producers like Danja and Benny Blanco.
Production and Songwriting Success
Rico Love wrote the song "Throwback" for Usher in 2004. This song was part of Usher's Confessions album, which won three Grammy Awards. This was the start of many collaborations between them.
In 2007, Rico Love helped write and produce the popular song "Love Like This" for Natasha Bedingfield and Sean Kingston. This song was a hit, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
He also co-wrote and co-produced "Energy" for Keri Hilson in 2008. In November 2008, Beyoncé's album I Am... Sasha Fierce included four songs that Rico Love helped write and produce. This album won five Grammy Awards. He wrote and produced the Platinum-selling song "Sweet Dreams" for Beyoncé.
Rico Love worked on Mario's D.N.A. album in 2009. He wrote and produced five songs, including the single "Thinkin' About You".
In 2010, Rico Love wrote and produced five songs on Usher's Raymond v. Raymond album. This album won a Grammy. The song "There Goes My Baby" stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for four weeks. Usher won a Grammy for his performance on this song.
Rico Love also wrote "Hello Good Morning" for Diddy – Dirty Money in 2010. This song became Gold-certified. Later that year, he worked on eight songs for Nelly's 5.0 album. The first single, "Just a Dream", which he co-wrote and co-produced, went Platinum.
He has also written and produced for artists like Chris Brown, David Guetta, and Mary J. Blige.
Division 1 Record Label
In November 2010, Rico Love started his own record label called Division 1. It first partnered with Universal Motown, then later with Interscope Records. In 2011, he signed R&B artist Teairra Marí and rap artist Young Chris to his label. In 2013, he signed artist Tiara Thomas. Rico Love also has a production company under the same name.
Musical Influences and Techniques
Rico Love has said that many artists have influenced his music. These include Usher, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, and Queen.
When he writes songs, Rico Love has a unique method. He doesn't write lyrics down or spend many hours on a single song. He listens to a beat and then sings whatever comes to his mind. He learned this technique from Jagged Edge. Rico Love says this method helps him write songs very quickly. This allows him to contribute more songs to an album than most other writers.
Discography
- Studio albums
- Turn the Lights On (2015)
- Even Kings Die (2018)
- EPs
- Discrete Luxury (2013)
- Singles
- "They Don't Know" (2013)
- "Somebody Else" (2015)
Awards and Nominations
- 2005 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album – Usher – Confessions
- 2011 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance - Usher - There Goes My Baby
