Students at Berklee College of Music in Boston were reassured about their career paths after a Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter and rapper offered feedback on their work last week.
Rico Love has worked with some of music’s biggest hitmakers – Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland, Diddy, Fergie, David Guetta, Fantasia and Wiz Khalifa, to name a few.
His writing credits include Nelly’s “Just a Dream,” Beyoncé’s “Sweet Dreams,” and “There Goes My Baby” by Usher, who is performing this coming February at the Super Bowl.
But on Thursday, Love visited the David Friend Recital Hall on Berklee’s campus to work with the next generation of super stars in a session called “The Art of a Song.”
The two-week program gave students a chance to present a chart-topping hit while getting guidance from Love, whose real name is Richard Preston Butler Jr. The producer sat in an auditorium from 1-3 p.m. on Oct. 26 while he listened to students’ final submissions, including “Stumble Back.”
The song was a joint effort from senior Manisha and her two friends Nico and Wes, Manisha told MassLive Thursday. While she said the trio knew this song was worthy of Love’s ears, Manisha never expected it to get perfect praise from the producer.
“It was great because I felt like the song was just really honest and I feel like it seems like that’s what really hit a chord for Rico,” Manisha said. “I just appreciated that he was listening to the words, but not just the words, the melody and he was also feeling the whole production. So, it was like all three of our parts shine through the song.”
Before the program started, Love told MassLive that he never came across so much young talent in one space.
He said he was originally attracted to host the session because he knew how much Berklee students want to succeed in the music industry.
Love also knew the students would take his feedback personally and use it to create something incredible, especially since they are working against each other in a highly competitive field.
“I think that when you are around people who are so talented, just as talented, if not more talented than you, then it pushes you in a certain direction to be absolutely your best,” he said.
That’s something to be said for the seasoned songwriter, who still participates in writing camps to help push his own creative limits.
“I think being in that environment, especially [being] young, it’s extremely beneficial,” he said.
Love said Berklee provides a great platform for its students and sets the bar high for them to succeed. In fact, the producer believes that so many of Berklee’s students have what it takes to make it in the music industry, that he’s unsure which ones will succeed and how.
“It’s stiff competition,” Love said. “There are several people in the room that have the ability. And then there’s also those sleepers who will probably end up making it [when] nobody expected them to.”
In today’s world, almost anyone can record a catchy tune and have it go viral through radio, streaming or social media. But Love says what truly makes a song a hit comes from tapping into one’s emotion to say something important that resonates with a larger audience.
“Having success is one thing and doing well at radio is one thing, but for me, a hit is being able to pierce the soul of people and then be able to mark a moment in time,” he explained. “If your record doesn’t do that, then yeah, it can perform high on the charts. But is it a hit?”
This was the kind of feedback Love gave Manisha when she first presented “Stumble Back” two weeks prior. After getting that final praise from Love, Manisha felt reassured about her future.
“It feels affirming and just empowering,” said the singer, who plans on moving to Los Angeles to pursue music fully after graduating.
“I think like there are little hints from the universe that are just like, ‘Hey, like you’re on the right path,’” she explained. “This is one of those moments.”
