They Don't Know

Album: Discrete Luxury (2013)
Charted: 73
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • New Orleans native Rico Love started off as a rapper but was encouraged to be a songwriter by Usher after he composed lyrics for a tune written by Just Blaze, which became the Confessions track "Throwback." He continued to pen tunes for the "Yeah!" singer, including the Raymond Vs Raymond singles "There Goes My Baby" and "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)." Meanwhile requests for Love's compositions began coming from other artists and he went on to write and produce records for the likes of Beyoncé ("Sweet Dreams"), Keri Hilson ("Energy") and Mary J. Blige ("Mr. Wrong").
  • Love recorded a solo album in 2007 titled The 5th Element but ultimately aborted the project as he decided to focus on his songwriting. In 2013 he decided to set his sights on a solo career of his own and released his debut solo EP Discrete Luxury. He explained why to XXL magazine: "The music just started to make sense," he said. "When you're writing songs for people consistently... Like when I write a song and I say, 'This is going to work for Mary J. Blige and this for Usher. And this is going to work for Diddy and this is going to work for whoever I write for.' That started to happen where the music I started to make started making sense for me. I said, 'Well, maybe it's time to do the album.' These things are just sounding so natural. These thing started making so much sense and feeling really organic to who I was."
  • This song about a guy cheating on his lover was released as the first single from Discrete Luxury and gave Love his first Hot 100 entry under his own name. Love performs the rap as well as singing the verses and chorus.
  • Love recruited Pitbull for the dance remix. "Pit and I have been friends for years and it was dope knowing that he loved the song and wanted to be a part of it," he told Billboard magazine. "I have to thank DJ Sin City for making such a dope track as well."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Maxi Priest

Maxi PriestSongwriter Interviews

The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

16 Songs With a Heartbeat

16 Songs With a HeartbeatSong Writing

We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.