Songwriter and producer Rico Love was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and New York City's Harlem neighborhood. He attended Florida A&M and, while visiting Atlanta, Georgia, worked his way into the music industry through connections with
Jagged Edge and
Usher, whose "Throwback" -- an excellent deep cut off Confessions -- featured his input. From 2005 through 2012, Rico was behind seven songs that peaked within the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, including
Usher's "There Goes My Baby,"
Mary J. Blige's "Mr. Wrong,"
Trey Songz' "Heart Attack,"
Kelly Rowland's "Motivation," and
Melanie Fiona's "4AM." Discrete Luxury, his first solo EP, was released in February 2014 through
Interscope -- "They Don't Know" reached the Top 15 of Billboard's R&B chart. The album Turn the Lights On followed in May 2015. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi