Robbie Love- Born to Entertain- People You Should Know

Cover and Inside Photo: Robbie Love. Her single “24/7” drops Saturday. July 27th, 2024.

By Buddy Sampson

Occasionally, there’s that performer that emerges who is so amazing, dominant and effervescent in the music industry that you can’t help but think, “this lady is just born to sing.” Robbie Love, a singer-songwriter, was naturally gifted with the ability to sing, and she will showcase her abilities to the world with her upcoming single, “24/7,” which is being produced by Mbaji of Backhouse Nation this Saturday, July 27^th. “I had been working (in Long Beach) with a band, ‘Don Bell and Bellstorm’ for a couple of years,” said Robbie Love. “Mbaji would come out to the show, and hang out with us a lot. But no one told me who Mbaji was. Someone told me that Mbaji co-wrote ‘Falling Like Dominos,’ and everyone that knows me knows how big of a fan I am of Donald Byrd and the Blackbirds. So when I asked and he said he co-wrote it, I literally screamed.”

Robbie Love’s musical journey began the day she was born. She was born and raised in Los Angeles. “I was born near Adams and Flower,” she laughed. “I’m native, I’m not a transplant. Growing up in LA was a lot of fun for myself and my brothers. As far as being in the music scene, it was incredible. My mom (singer Mary Love) was doing her thing. She starred in ‘Dolamite.’ She’s singing ‘Power of Love’ in the love scene.”

Growing up in a rock & roll household, with Mary Love, her mom, an international star, Robbie is no stranger to the music industry. It wasn’t unusual for her and her brothers to go shoot billiards at the home of front man Dennis Edwards of the Temptations or to spend weekends over Uncle Charles Wright of the Watts 103 Street Rhythm band’s house, or even get a knock on the door from Mr. Willie Hutch. Robbie’s first photo shoot was at the tender age of 4 months by Mr. Lamont Mc Lemore, one of the founding members of the acclaimed musical group The Fifth Dimensions. At the age of two weeks old, she spent her very first time in a recording studio with her mother, Mary Love, singing her hit record, “You Turn My Bitter Into Sweet”. Robbie slept through the whole recording session only to wake up once the music stopped.

When she was eight years old, she got an epiphany. “We were rolling down the street with my grandmother one day, I was eight years old, we were on Santa Barbara Boulevard, which is Martin Luther King Boulevard now, “she said. “And some music was playing, I was in the back seat, it was a beautiful, sunny day and we had the windows down, and a voice came to me and said ‘you’re going to be an entertainer.’ It just stuck with me.”

Robbie Love.

At the age of 12, Robbie was hired to sing background vocals on her mother’s recordings “More Love & Then Some” stating that her mother taught her that, “Once you’re paid to sing, you are officially a pro.” At this very young age, she held a 5-octave range belting out melodies and riffs compared closely to the likes of Minnie Riperton, Chaka Khan & Aretha Franklin. Robbie credits these incredible talents as having a major influence on her musically, being a close second to her mother, Mary Love. International Jazz & Blues Ms. Barbara Morrison, a close friend of her mother, was so close to Robbie, she called her Auntie. “She’s like an aunt to us and she was my son’s godmother,” she said of Barbara Morrison. “When Barbara Morrison moved out here from Detroit, Mom and Barbara became tight at that time, and at that time, my mom was known all over the world.”

Robbie, who has fallen in love with camping, had just spent the day before camping before the interview. “My cousin got me into camping through LA Parks and Recreation,” said Robbie. “I thought, really, it was great for the community. We’ve been going for the last couple of years and they have it once a month, in June, July and August. We set up our tents and our camping gear and everything and it’s so beautiful because they have a lake there and a waterfall, a stream and all the trees, it’s such a nice time and a nice vibe. I love it.”

When asked about the Los Angeles music scene and the disappearance of venues across LA, Robbie had a candid response. “We need to get it back to where it was,” said Robbie, “with musicians rallying together, throwing shows together, and getting with Parks and Recreation’s to bring that thing back alive.”

This week, on Saturday, July 27^th, Robbie Love is releasing her single, “24/7.” Produced by Backhouse Nation’s Mbaji, she is also featured on the track “That’s Life.”