Rico Love is the man behind the hits. From Beyonce to Brandy, Usher, and T.I., and countless more, his producing and songwriting skills are highly sought after. He was also a hit-maker in front of the cameras, lending a glimpse into his life on VH1’s crazy successful “Love & Hip-Hop” series. Behind the music and the small screen, there’s Rico, the intelligent and grounded gentleman, with a lot of insights to offer.
AllHipHop.com had the chance to get his input on a variety of topics. Check out our “3 Questions With: Rico Love”:
With the recent election, let’s talk about music’s impact on politics and world issues. Does Hip-Hop help or hurt real change coming about in the country, in your opinion?
Music helps and hurts the cause actually. You have artists like Jay-Z, who is outspoken about supporting President Obama, and others who are speaking out on the issues and doing positive things all the time. We also see those in the industry growing as entrepreneurs and executives, showing the youth that it can be done.
Then, you have certain artists who reach a decent level of success, but promote violence, drugs, and things of that nature. They could actually take a different approach on things and help bring about change, but what they put out hurts the community; it hurts the whole cause. So, on one end you have people who help, and then you have people who hurt it. It’s all about which perspective you’re seeing it from. Certain aspects are positive, and certain ones are negative. Just like with anything else.
Have you ever spilled too much of your own truth in a record you wrote?
I wrote “Mr. Wrong” and “4 AM” about myself, and “Heart Attack”, too. “Dive” is about a situation I was in before. So, yes, at times I’ll write a song and think about what happened in my own life. It just shows how powerful the things we say and do can be, and how powerful words are. Sometimes your life imitates art, and vice versa.
This is completely off-topic, but…the bracelets you wear all the time – is there a story behind them?
I did a ringtone deal with Hi-Fli Tones back when I was an artist, after that they made these bracelets for me. The bracelets take me back to when I started, and make me reflect on my journey. I play basketball with them on, I do everything with them on. I’ve never taken them off in like eight years. It just serves as constant reminder of where I came from.
Tawni Fears is a freelance writer and contributor to AllHipHop.com. Follow her on Twitter (@brwnsugaT).