Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Multi-platinum songwriter and producer Rico Love sits with Ray Daniels and breaks down writing Usher's "There Goes My Baby," "Daddy's Home" and "Boyfriend #2," Beyonce's "Sweet Dreams," Diddy's "Hello Good Morning," and his new album "97 Bad Boy." He also talks going broke in 2016 and building it all back.
Rico gets into why so many great songwriters never make it as artists, and why he wishes Danny Dominguez had A&R'd his solo project the way he A&R'd his pen. Ray tells the story of Rico and Usher walking in wearing fur coats in 2005, and Rock City's "Super Villain" demo for Nicole Sherzinger that Jimmy Iovine played for everybody.
The business talk is the meat. Rico explains why he calls himself a producer who writes songs, how Vincent Cersei and Danny Dominguez got him writer fees and points when nobody was getting them, how he went from two points to twelve on a Lumisia single, and why he asked Romeo Santos and Prince Royce for points too.
On craft, he studies GQ actor breakdowns, Scorsese, Tarantino and Dick Gregory. He wrote "There Goes My Baby" picturing Chilli in the closet in Usher's "You Don't Have to Call" video. He breaks down Max Martin's math, ABBA, Billy Joe's "And So It Goes," and why Drake, Trey Songs and Chris Brown all rapped first.
He is honest about the fall too. Rico spent 2.5 million of his own money on "Turn the Lights On," filed bankruptcy in 2016, and tied making records to failure after that. He talks Clive Davis, LA Reid, Puff pushing Sarah Stokes on Making the Band, and the music school he is building.
CHAPTERS
0:00 T-Mac, Ray Daniels, Mickey Fat and Silk Bring Out Rico Love
1:40 Why Great Songwriters Rarely Become Great Artists
4:02 Danny Dominguez and Rock City's "Super Villain" Demo
5:39 "Throwback" and Beyonce's "Sweet Dreams" - the Life-Changing Songs
7:11 Clive Davis, the Beverly Hills Bungalow and Sending Lyrics First
8:50 Milwaukee, Jada Kiss and Studying Actors to Write Characters
11:21 Why Rico Has Not Released an Album in 10 Years
12:54 The Dream Gig: Executive Producing an Usher Album
15:15 "I'm a Producer Who Writes Songs" - How Writers Get Paid
17:41 Writer Fees, Points and 12 Points on a Lumisia Single
20:13 Rapping vs Songwriting: Lyrics That Read Like a Book
22:38 Drake, Trey Songs and Chris Brown Were All Rappers First
25:02 Hit Record vs Great Record: Billy Joe's "And So It Goes"
27:22 Max Martin, ABBA and Writing Songs Mathematically
28:58 "There Goes My Baby" Was Written About Chilli
31:22 Usher's "Daddy's Home" and the Backlash Over Fatherhood
34:37 Writing "Boyfriend #2" and What Tama Foster Told Him
37:04 "97 Bad Boy": Mase, Puff and Why 1997 Made Rico Love
39:35 Meeting Kobe Bryant Backstage on the Monica Tour
42:02 Babyface, Neo and Why Biggie Made Rico Stop Writing
44:27 600,000 Songs a Day and the Death of Gatekeepers
47:44 Puff, Sarah Stokes and "Hello Good Morning" Written 50 Times
50:48 Going Broke on "Turn the Lights On" and the 2016 Bankruptcy
53:15 Building Wealth to Fund a Music Daycare and School
55:52 3 A.M. Gym and the Discipline His Kids See Daily
58:17 Little Debbie, Olive Garden and Raising the Bar
The Raydar Report is Ray Daniels' weekly breakdown of the music business, hip-hop culture and Atlanta - hosted by a 20-year music executive, not a journalist. New episodes every week.
Like this video? Become a channel member for more content or join our Patreon!
patreon.com/c/RayDanielsPresents
Subscribe on YouTube - bit.ly/RayDanielsYouTube
Watch full episodes of The Raydar Report - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLykiYt2yLGSiC5tGLmI-d4bkbBdgyytD4
Follow:
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Multi-platinum songwriter and producer Rico Love sits with Ray Daniels and breaks down writing Usher's "There Goes My Baby," "Daddy's Home" and "Boyfriend #2," Beyonce's "Sweet Dreams," Diddy's "Hello Good Morning," and his new album "97 Bad Boy." He also talks going broke in 2016 and building it all back.
Rico gets into why so many great songwriters never make it as artists, and why he wishes Danny Dominguez had A&R'd his solo project the way he A&R'd his pen. Ray tells the story of Rico and Usher walking in wearing fur coats in 2005, and Rock City's "Super Villain" demo for Nicole Sherzinger that Jimmy Iovine played for everybody.
The business talk is the meat. Rico explains why he calls himself a producer who writes songs, how Vincent Cersei and Danny Dominguez got him writer fees and points when nobody was getting them, how he went from two points to twelve on a Lumisia single, and why he asked Romeo Santos and Prince Royce for points too.
On craft, he studies GQ actor breakdowns, Scorsese, Tarantino and Dick Gregory. He wrote "There Goes My Baby" picturing Chilli in the closet in Usher's "You Don't Have to Call" video. He breaks down Max Martin's math, ABBA, Billy Joe's "And So It Goes," and why Drake, Trey Songs and Chris Brown all rapped first.
He is honest about the fall too. Rico spent 2.5 million of his own money on "Turn the Lights On," filed bankruptcy in 2016, and tied making records to failure after that. He talks Clive Davis, LA Reid, Puff pushing Sarah Stokes on Making the Band, and the music school he is building.
CHAPTERS
0:00 T-Mac, Ray Daniels, Mickey Fat and Silk Bring Out Rico Love
1:40 Why Great Songwriters Rarely Become Great Artists
4:02 Danny Dominguez and Rock City's "Super Villain" Demo
5:39 "Throwback" and Beyonce's "Sweet Dreams" - the Life-Changing Songs
7:11 Clive Davis, the Beverly Hills Bungalow and Sending Lyrics First
8:50 Milwaukee, Jada Kiss and Studying Actors to Write Characters
11:21 Why Rico Has Not Released an Album in 10 Years
12:54 The Dream Gig: Executive Producing an Usher Album
15:15 "I'm a Producer Who Writes Songs" - How Writers Get Paid
17:41 Writer Fees, Points and 12 Points on a Lumisia Single
20:13 Rapping vs Songwriting: Lyrics That Read Like a Book
22:38 Drake, Trey Songs and Chris Brown Were All Rappers First
25:02 Hit Record vs Great Record: Billy Joe's "And So It Goes"
27:22 Max Martin, ABBA and Writing Songs Mathematically
28:58 "There Goes My Baby" Was Written About Chilli
31:22 Usher's "Daddy's Home" and the Backlash Over Fatherhood
34:37 Writing "Boyfriend #2" and What Tama Foster Told Him
37:04 "97 Bad Boy": Mase, Puff and Why 1997 Made Rico Love
39:35 Meeting Kobe Bryant Backstage on the Monica Tour
42:02 Babyface, Neo and Why Biggie Made Rico Stop Writing
44:27 600,000 Songs a Day and the Death of Gatekeepers
47:44 Puff, Sarah Stokes and "Hello Good Morning" Written 50 Times
50:48 Going Broke on "Turn the Lights On" and the 2016 Bankruptcy
53:15 Building Wealth to Fund a Music Daycare and School
55:52 3 A.M. Gym and the Discipline His Kids See Daily
58:17 Little Debbie, Olive Garden and Raising the Bar
The Raydar Report is Ray Daniels' weekly breakdown of the music business, hip-hop culture and Atlanta - hosted by a 20-year music executive, not a journalist. New episodes every week.
Like this video? Become a channel member for more content or join our Patreon!
patreon.com/c/RayDanielsPresents
Subscribe on YouTube - bit.ly/RayDanielsYouTube
Watch full episodes of The Raydar Report - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLykiYt2yLGSiC5tGLmI-d4bkbBdgyytD4
Follow:
Instagram - instagram.com/raydaniels
Twitter - twitter.com/raydaniels
TikTok - tiktok.com/@ray.daniels
#raydaniels
#raydarreport
