Jeff Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer,

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where a ...

based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. He was awarded the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and nominated in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

. An accomplished producer, he came to prominence as one of the primary producers of

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's influential '' 808s & Heartbreak'' and closely collaborated with West during the late 2000s on ''

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010, following a period of public controversy for West. Re ...

'', ''

Watch the Throne ''Watch the Throne'' is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, collectively known as The Throne. It was released on August 8, 2011, through Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Prior to th ...

'', his tours, and, later, '' Donda''. In the following decade, Bhasker would go on to produce the albums ''Some Nights'' by Fun, '' Uptown Special'' with

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, ...

, and

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor''. Following his elimination, he was brought ...

' self-titled debut album, among other notable credits. His accolades include

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

s for the songs " Run This Town" by Jay-Z, "

All of the Lights "All of the Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010). It was produced by West and features additional vocals from several other recor ...

" by Kanye West, "

We Are Young "We Are Young" is a song recorded by American band Fun, featuring American singer Janelle Monáe. It is the third track on the group's second studio album, '' Some Nights'' (2012). The song was released on September 20, 2011 as the lead si ...

" by Fun., and " Uptown Funk" by

Early life

Bhasker was born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, and raised in

Socorro, New Mexico Socorro (, '' sə-KOR-oh'') is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . In 2010 the population was 9,051. It is the county seat of Socorro County. Socorro is located south of ...

. His

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

n-born mother is a pianist and his

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

n-born father, Ravi Bhasker, is a medical doctor who has served as Socorro's mayor for over 24 years. Bhasker was introduced to jazz by his mother and his piano teacher. He played in the jazz band at Socorro High School, where he graduated in 1993, and then studied jazz piano and arranging at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

in Boston, Massachusetts.

Career

Bhasker began his career gigging around Boston as a keyboardist and played in a wedding band. After playing with the 1970s-era R&B band

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil *Tavares, Paraíba *Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul *Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo *Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Tavares River Jamaica *Tavares Garden ...

, Bhasker moved to New York on September 11, 2001. He toured with the jam band

Lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of foo ...

and began focusing more on songwriting. One of his first productions was with

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contem ...

singer

Goapele Goapele Mohlabane (; born July 11, 1977), is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. Her name means ''to move forward'' in Setswana, a Southern African language. Early life Goapele's South African father Douglas Mohlabane was an exiled po ...

, on her album '' Closer'' (2001). Bhasker produced a song on rapper

The Game The Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...

's first album, ''

The Documentary ''The Documentary'' is the second studio album by American rapper the Game. It was released on January 18, 2005, by Aftermath Entertainment, G-Unit Records, and Interscope Records. In 2001, while the Game was in a hospital recovering from a sh ...

'' (2005). Bhasker relocated to

, in 2005. He got a job doing demos for songwriter

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. War ...

. He began writing with

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

, and songwriter and executive

Steve Lindsey Steve Lindsey (born Steve Clark Lindsey; May 6, 1956) is an American record producer, songwriter music publisher and music industry executive. Early life Steve Lindsey, born in New York City, to Mort Lindsey and his wife Judy. He had a co ...

served as their mentor. He played

cover songs In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...

in a band with Mars around Los Angeles. Around 2007, Bhasker began his association with rapper/producer

. Initially serving as a substitute keyboardist on the recommendation of his friend and West's tour DJ

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known by his stage name A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highly ...

, West was impressed with his musical ability and hired him for West's Glow in the Dark Tour as his musical director. He was set to be the musical director for the cancelled Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga, before going on to be the music director of

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

The Monster Ball Tour The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her first EP, '' The Fame Monster'' (2009) and comprising a set list of songs from that and her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (200 ...

. Bhasker collaborated on West's albums '' 808s & Heartbreak'', ''

'' and the Jay-Z/Kanye West collaboration album, ''

'', including the songs " Welcome to Heartbreak". " Lift Off", and "

Runaway Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...

". Bhasker received the

Grammy Award for Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...

for West's "

", and the Jay-Z/

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to t ...

/Kanye West song " Run This Town". Bhasker and West reunited on " Come to Life" on 2021's '' Donda''. Following this period, Bhasker would go on to produce Fun's ''Some Nights'' (2012), '' Uptown Special'' (2015) with

, and

' self-titled debut album (2017). Bhasker's collaborations span multiple genres, including his work with Alicia Keys, Mark Ronson, Kid Cudi, Cam, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Young Thug, and more. Bhasker co-wrote and co-produced

's single " Uptown Funk", which earned him a 2016

Grammy Award for Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

. Additionally, he received the 2016 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for his achievements in producing that year. His

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

multi-platinum selling records include Kanye West's "

Love Lockdown "Love Lockdown" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his fourth studio album, '' 808s & Heartbreak'' (2008). The song was produced by West, while co-produced by Jeff Bhasker. The producers co-wrote it with Esthero, Malik Yusef, and ...

", "

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

" and " Power", Jay-Z's " Run this Town",

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

's " Find Your Love", Fun's "

", " Some Nights" and " Carry On", Pink's " Just Give Me a Reason", Bruno Mars' " Talking to the Moon" and " Locked out of Heaven", Mark Ronson's " Uptown Funk", Rihanna's " Kiss it Better"and Harry Styles' " Sign of the Times".

Musical style

As a vocalist, Bhasker has used the aliases Billy Cravens and U.G.L.Y. He explained his reasons in a ninterview with '' GQ'': when speaking on the Billy Cravens

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

in 2013, he said "I just thought it was a cooler sounding name, and I was making these kind of dark pop songs that suited it. It's kinda like

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the " Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...

meets

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

Discography

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Filmography

* '' A Man Named Scott'' (2021) – Himself

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhasker, Jeff American hip hop record producers American hip hop singers American male singers American male musicians of Indian descent American musicians of Indian descent APRA Award winners Berklee College of Music alumni GOOD Music artists Grammy Award winners for rap music Living people People from Socorro, New Mexico Songwriters from New Mexico 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American male musicians 1974 births American male songwriters