About

Fordham University alum and Washington, D.C. area native Rico Washington has successfully utilized his talents as a storyteller across various platforms. As a journalist, he has served as a staff writer for XLR8R Magazine as well as music editor for Brooklyn-based Free Magazine. 

In his feature stories, he has covered high profile industry events such as the Grammy Awards, interviewed R&B icons (Erykah Badu), legendary comedians (Chris Rock, the late Bernie Mac), groundbreaking visual/ performance artists (Sanford Biggers, Jacolby Satterwhite), blockbuster film stars (Vin Diesel) and forecast the next generation of trendsetting recording artists (Kaytranada, Teyana Taylor, SZA). His work has appeared in a wide array of media outlets including Wax Poetics, Okayplayer, and Ebony.com.

He has also earned his stripes within both the independent and major record label realms at companies such as BMG Distribution, Verity Records (now known as RCA Inspiration), Giant Step, and at the legendary Arista Records A&R department under the presidency of esteemed industry mogul L.A. Reid. 

Under contract with various British record labels, he has composed over 30 album liner note essays for CD reissues of classic albums by living legends such as Deniece Williams and late soul music icons Bill Withers and Natalie Cole. He has also written bios for major label recording artists, professional athletes, as well as Grammy winning/ multi platinum songwriters and producers.

As an interdisciplinary artist, his projects – such as We The People: The Citizens of NYCHA in Pictures + Words and Finding Dante with photographer Shino Yanagawa – have been exhibited at institutions such as the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) and praised by the likes of lauded scholar/ documentarian Dr. Henry Louis Gates and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. His work is in the permanent collections of institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard University. His work has also been honored with grants from organizations such as the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, NOCD-NY's Cultural Transformation initiative and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute.

The projects have garnered the attention of media outlets such as NPR, NY1, CBS, Metro NY, and the New York Daily News. His knack for creating thought provoking, sociopolitically charged art has afforded him opportunities such as guest lecturing and presenting at institutions such as New York University, The New School, the Rockefeller Foundation as well as an artist residency at San Francisco-based start-up Social Print Studio. He is an alumnus of fellowships with Columbia University, the Smithsonian Institution and the Thread storyteller program at Yale University. He is also a member of internationally recognized organizations such as the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and The Recording Academy (Grammys).

Most recently, Rico served as music supervisor for the independent film Queen Of Glory by director/ actor Nana Mensah (Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why & Sandra Oh drama series The Chair). The film has won awards at the Tribeca Film Festival (New York), the Champs-Élysées Film Festival (Paris) and has been acquired for worldwide and U.S. sales rights by Magnolia Pictures. Queen Of Glory features songs by Ghanaian music legends (Daddy Lumba) as well as critically acclaimed and up and coming artists (Moses Sumney, Ria Boss, Freda Rhymz).

Rico lives and works between New York City, Paris and Berlin, where he is pursuing a graduate degree at Freie University.