Rico Love

Background

Richard Preston Butler Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 3, 1982. His parents divorced when he was a child. As a result, Butler spent his childhood in two cities: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he lived with his mother, and Harlem, New York, where he lived with his father. He kept his interest in his music while in college at Florida A&M University, winning numerous rap battles and talent competitions. He moved in with the Corna Boyz, a group of local Atlanta producers. Butler was allowed to rap on a remix the producers were working on for Usher because of their relationship. Usher was impressed with his remix work and signed him to ‘U.S. Records/J Records.’

Butler wrote the song ‘Throwback’ at Usher’s request for the triple Grammy-winning album “Confessions” in 2004. Usher urged him to pursue a career as a songwriter, and he received requests for compositions from musicians such as Chris Brown, Omarion, and Marques Houston. Usher’s “Raymond v. Raymond” album, released in March 2010, was written and produced by Love. Butler’s compositions were used on the Platinum and Grammy-winning album, including two of the album’s hits. ‘There Goes My Baby,’ the co-produced and co-written single, was a success and spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list, earning him a Grammy for his performance. ‘Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home),’ another track written and produced by Butler, reached number two on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list.

Butler was responsible for seven songs in the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart between 2005 and 2012. These include Usher’s ‘There Goes My Baby,’ Mary J. Blige’s ‘Mr. Wrong, Trey Songz’s ‘Heart Attack,’ Kelly Rowland’s ‘Motivation, and Melanie Fiona’s ‘4AM.’ His first solo E.P., “Discrete Luxury,” was released in February 2014 by Interscope Records. Billboard’s R&B chart placed “They Don’t Know” in the Top 15. In May 2015, he released his debut studio album, “Turn the Lights On.” Butler presently resides in Miami with Robin Thompson, sometimes known as Robin V, a photographer. They are the parents of two children.