(AllHipHop News) While in the studio crafting hits with his production team, producer and singer-songwriter Rico Love took a moment to speak with AllHipHop.com about the recently released ‘Freaks” music video by French Montana featuring Nicki Minaj. The dance hall inspired track is the second single off Montana’s upcoming album Excuse My French set for release May 21st.
“We gave French Montana and Nicki Minaj the new ‘Freaks’ record. I’m really excited about it,” says Love. “Flipped sum reggae s###, some dance hall s###, some classics and it’s getting great feedback.”
Rico Love’s “Freaks” track features samples from 1994’s “Freaks” by Vicious featuring Doug E. Fresh and Chaka Demus & Pliers’s 1992 reggae classic “Murder She Wrote.”
Rico is enjoying his spot in the game right now. He continues to produce a steady stream of success that began with work on projects by Usher, Omarion, and Marques Houston in the early 2000’s.
Over the last several years his songwriting and production credits have included Usher’s “There Goes My Baby,” Diddy-Dirty Money’s “Hello Good Morning,” and “Sweet Dreams” by Beyoncé.
“I’m just excited about what I’m doing in Hip-Hop,” adds Love. “A lot of people know me for the big pop records, for the big R&B records, for the big urban joints, but I just wanted to be a part of Hip-Hop and the whole movement cause I respect and love it so much and that’s where I came from.”
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Besides French and Nicki’s latest single, Love has been producing songs for other top Hip-Hop artists like “Ball” by T.I. featuring Lil Wayne and “Long Live A$AP” by A$AP Rocky.
But the Grammy nominated producer sees his contribution to “Freaks” as his way of paying homage to another great musical genre.
“I’m doing my best reggae impersonation, so to speak, cause I would never disrespect all the legends,” explains Love. “We just wanted to give that feel…because everybody loves dancehall music.”
Watch the full Allhiphop.com exclusive interview with Rico Love and the video for French Montana’s “Freaks” below.
French Montana – Freaks (Explicit) ft. Nicki Minaj