Rico Love Produced All Of These Hits And You Had No Idea
It's time to get to know the elusive Rico Love – the man responsible for producing some of pop, hip-hop and R&B’s hottest tracks. He grabbed our ears a few weeks back with an incredible remix of Disclosure's "Latch," but that's just the latest triumph in a career that goes back over a decade. After catching the attention of the almighty Usher (insert praise hands emoji), Rico was brought on to contribute to the diamond-selling Confessions album in 2004, and he’s been on a roll ever since! From writing, producing and guesting for a slew of popular acts—yes, even Queen Bey!—Rico is skilled at cranking out hit after hit. Heck, he’s won Grammy Awards, people! No wonder he won the heart of Love & Hip Hop Hollywood's Teairra Mari...
So now, let's show some love to the great Rico Love by taking a look at some of his biggest smashes.
“Love Like This” – Natasha Bedingfield featuring Sean Kingston (2007)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPTZVmJrIpo
On the chanty, sucrose-soaked pop anthem “Love Like This,” Natasha paid homage to never-ending, transcending love. Written and produced by Love, the colossal hit packed an extra punch of feel-good with a feature from the king of jolly, Sean Kingston.
“Energy” – Keri Hilson (2008)
“Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” – Usher featuring Plies (2009)
Singing about arousing activities like slowly pouring Kool-Aid on folks—and vowing to do a lot of sexing during the evening hours, Usher (with the help of Plies) got super sensual and debatably naughty on “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home).” His longtime collaborator Rico helped out with writing and production duties.
“Sweet Dreams” – Beyoncé (2008)
“Hello Good Morning” – Diddy - Dirty Money featuring T.I. (2010)
“There Goes My Baby” – Usher (2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6urbZyHgO4
Co-produced and co-written by Love, “There Goes My Baby” earned Usher his eleventh number 1 hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song—where Usher admires his lover’s physique as she walks around—scored a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
“Just a Dream” – Nelly (2010)
Rico was at the helm of Nelly’s massive comeback single, “Just a Dream.” You know, the one where Nelly was thinking about her, thinking about him, thinking about them and what they were going to be. Thinking can be so complicated sometimes.
“Gone” – Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland (2011)
Penned by Love, “Gone” reunited Nelly and Kelly Rowland together for the first time since their worldwide smash, “Dilemma.” The breezy track—which featured Nelly and Kelly’s flirtatious back-and-forth—picked up exactly where “Dilemma” left off.
“Motivation” – Kelly Rowland featuring Lil Wayne (2011)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1XozsBN5Z4
Kelly got extra frisky on “Motivation,” co-written by Rico and Weezy. The slinky, synth-saturated jam had Ms. Rowland begging her boo to do things like “push harder” and “make mama proud.” The track remains Kelly’s highest performing single as a lead solo artist.
“Heart Attack” – Trey Songz (2012)
“Heart Attack” peaked at number 3 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On the “Let’s break up. JK! Let’s never break up.” jam, Trey agonized over being broken down by maddening love, all in perfect pitch.
[Photo: Getty Images]