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Division 1/Interscope RecordsAfter writing the hits “Sweet Dreams” for Beyonce and “Just a Dream” for Nelly, composer/producer Rico Love is now dreaming of achieving similar success as a solo artist. Love, who also composed for Chris Brown, Trey Songz, and Mary J. Blige, has released the single “Somebody Else” from his debut solo album Turn the Lights On due out May 19. Monica, Raekwon, and Action Bronson are among the guest stars on the project.
Love tells Billboard his songwriting success began when he was signed as rapper to Usher’s US records label, and the star encouraged him to work for him as a composer. “It’s just a gift that I didn’t realize that I had,” he says. “It’s like a guy who’s seven feet tall and he doesn’t realize he can dunk. Someone shows him, ‘Look, just put the ball up there and jump a little bit.'”
The singer/rapper says his blueprint is to avoid just following the popular trends. “It’s up to us to make songs of substance [and] to connect to the listeners in a way that isn’t so typical,” he says. “So many artists are just stuck in this little BPM thing, and they’re trying to keep up with what’s going on at radio instead of connecting to people.”
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