Rico Love 'Believes In' Nelly, Preps His Own Label - The Boombox

Hannibal Matthews

Rico Love tends to air out the naysayers, especially when they're speaking crudely of his friends in the music business. The 27-year-old songwriter recently collaborated with Nelly and Jim Jonsin to make the guitar-laden track 'But a Dream,' which has spent six weeks on the Billboard Top 100 and currently sits at No. 7 on the chart.

The song's undeniable pop appeal is a slap in the present to those who scoffed at Rico's choice to go with the St. Louis-bred rapper. "Honestly, nobody believed in the project," Love tells The BoomBox. "A lot of masses in the business, I was telling 'em I was running with Nelly on this new record, and everybody was telling me, 'Nah, I think Nelly is over.' And I was like, 'How can you say that about Nelly?' Nelly is probably one of the biggest hip-hop artists ever. It's queer how people, in this game, count you out so fast." With the issue of an accompanying video - directed by Sanji and snap in black and white - 'Just a Dream' is maintaining a viral presence. For Love, who's written for the likes of Show and Beyonce, the record's immediate acceptance has been gratifying. "It was exciting to see the winner of the disc so early and it's just the beginning," he says. "It's still growth and growing and growing. I know to do projects that I'm excited about and that I wish to do, not only because people think I should do them. When I do get those decisions, it always works out for the better 'case I go with my heart."Rico does exactly that when working alongside producer Jim Jonsin. He considers Jonsin a "brother" despite their work relationship as the masterminds behind songs like Usher's 'There Goes My Sister' and Fantasia's 'Falling in Bed Tonight.' During their studio session while creating Nelly's 'Just a Dream,' the 2nd single off his sixth album, '5.' the duo relied on their individual strengths while functioning as a team. "It's weird how it came together like that," Love admits. "I really got the footage all on camera of how it all came together. Jim had the beat already. Myself and Nelly were simply sitting down, coming up with melodies and he came up with 'But a dream,' then later that I came up with 'I was thinkin' 'bout her, thinkin' bout me, thinkin' bout us, what we gon' be.'" Years of teaming up with veteran producers and esteemed artists have inspired Rico to make a trademark on his own. The rapper-turned-singer created Division 1 Music Group, a production company housing talent like beatmakers Earl and E. As a lead of the chart-toppers on his resume, Rico scored a 50/50 joint venture with Universal Motown. "It's not a production deal, it's a true label deal," Love states. As for the acts on his roster, Rico's keeping mum on details of a male emcee he signed, but promises a "big announcement" is forthcoming. However, the ladies under his tutelage are getting their shine now. "I get a young lady by the key of Cherlise," he reveals. "[She's] more R&B, a young, black, urban girl. She's fly, from Miami. [And] I got a daughter by the name of Sophie Green that I'm super duper excited about. [She's] from D.C. and she lives in Brooklyn. There's no way to distinguish her style. It's only something that you're gonna have to hear. It's some next level shit."