Rico Love

Born in New Orleans, however raised in Milwaukke, Wisconsin, and Harlem, New York, Butler was inspired by his mother from a young age to compose poetry. Having grown in confidence with his composition skills, Butler joined the African American Children’s Theater, before discovering hip-hop and rap in his early teens. Butler subsequently enrolled at Florida A&M University where he continued to pursue his interest in music and rhyme, regularly winning rap contests and travelling to Atlanta to build industry connections.

It was in Atlanta that Butler met members of Jagged Edge, and after dropping out of college due to an administrative error, Butler lived with the Atlanta producers the Corna Boyz. Through his connection with the Corna Boyz, the talented songwriter was introduced to Usher who signed him to his US Records/J Records. Rico Love’s first collaboration with Usher came on the Just Blaze-produced track “Throwback”, which later appeared on Usher’s 10x platinum album “Confessions” in 2004. The singer and songwriter went on to tour with Usher on the “Confessions” tour, significantly increasing his profile in the industry.

From that moment on Rico Love began contributing to some of the most successful singles and albums in the hip-hop and R&B genre. In September 2007 Love wrote and produced Natasha Beddingfield’s “Love Like This”, followed by Kerry Hilson’s “Energy”, Fergie’s “Label of Love”, and a host of tracks from Beyoncé’s multi-platinum award winning album “I Am… Sasha Fierce”. The songwriter and producer went on to contribute to songs by Mary J. Blige, Kelly Rowland, Trey Songz, Diddy, Jamie Foxx, Mario, Rick Ross, and Nelly to name a few, leading Love to become one of the most respected and sought-after producers in the world.

In 2007 a self-penned and produced soundtrack album, “The 5th Element”, was shelved by his label, however in 2013 Love released his debut EP “Discrete Luxury”. The record spawned the singles “They Don’t Know” and “Bitches Be Like”, before Love released a subsequent EP entitled “Turn the Lights On”. The versatile performer went on to release his debut full-length “Turn the Lights On (TTLO)” in 2015, led by the single “Somebody Else”.