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

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates 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 genre and film scoring. ...

, and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and was nominated for the award in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. Bhasker came to prominence as the primary producer of

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

's album ''

808s & Heartbreak ''808s & Heartbreak'' is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West, released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Stud ...

'' (2008), and further worked with West on his subsequent albums including ''

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of ...

'' (2010), '' Watch the Throne'' (2011), his tours, and later, '' Donda'' (2021). For other artists, Bhasker has also produced the albums ''Some Nights'' (2012) by Fun., '' Uptown Special'' (2015) by

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...

, and

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a Cultural impact of Harry Styles, significant impact on popular culture. Styles's musical ca ...

' self-titled debut album (2017), among others. Bhasker has won

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s for his work on the songs " Run This Town" for

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

, " All of the Lights" for Kanye West, "

We Are Young "We Are Young" is a song recorded by American pop rock 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 th ...

" for Fun., and " Uptown Funk" for Mark Ronson.

Early life

Bhasker was born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous 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 ...

, and was raised in

Socorro, New Mexico Socorro (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, sə-KOR-oh'') is a city in Socorro County, New Mexico, Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is in the Middle Rio Grande Valley AVA, Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . At the 2020 ...

. His

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n-born mother is a pianist and his Telugu

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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, 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 mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...

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 music, soul ...

singer Goapele, on her album '' Closer'' (2001). Bhasker produced a song on rapper The Game's first album, ''

The Documentary ''The Documentary'' is the debut studio album by American rapper the Game. It was released on January 18, 2005, by Aftermath Entertainment, G-Unit Records, and Interscope Records. The record serves as his major-label debut, preceded by his i ...

'' (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 won an Academy Honorary Award, Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and three consecutive ''Billboard'' Music Awards for Songwriter of the Year from 19 ...

. He began writing with

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...

, and songwriter and executive Steve Lindsey 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 professionally as 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 highl ...

, 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. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

's The Monster Ball Tour. Bhasker collaborated on West's albums ''

'', ''

'' and the

/Kanye West collaboration album, '' Watch the Throne'', including the songs " Welcome to Heartbreak". " Lift Off", and " Runaway". 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 " All of the Lights", and the Jay-Z/

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

/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

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

Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical is an honor presented to record producers for quality non-classical music at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in ...

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/o ...

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 Stars ...

", " Runaway", "

Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

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

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

'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 alias Billy Kraven (last name credited as Craven in the interview and in the record). He explained his reasons in an interview with '' GQ'': When speaking on the Billy Kraven's

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

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, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

meets

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Amongst his Wes Craven filmography, prolific filmography, Craven worked primarily in the Horror film, horror genre, particularly sla ...

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 people of Telugu descent 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 Lettuce (band) members