Jeff Bhasker | |
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| Born | March 4, 1974 Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Origin | Socorro, New Mexico, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2005–present |
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Jeff Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He was awarded the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and nominated in 2013.
An accomplished producer, he came to prominence as one of the primary producers of Kanye West's influential 808s & Heartbreak and closely collaborated with West during the late 2000s on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne, 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, and Harry Styles' self-titled debut album, among other notable credits.
His accolades include Grammy Awards for the songs "Run This Town" by Jay-Z, "All of the Lights" by Kanye West, "We Are Young" by Fun., and "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson.[2][3]
Early life
Bhasker was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and raised in Socorro, New Mexico.[4][5] His American-born mother is a pianist and his Indian-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.[6] 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 in Boston, Massachusetts.[7][8]
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 and began focusing more on songwriting.[9] One of his first productions was with neo soul singer Goapele, on her album Closer (2001). Bhasker produced a song on rapper The Game's first album, The Documentary (2005).[10]
Bhasker relocated to Los Angeles in 2005. He got a job doing demos for songwriter Diane Warren.[11] He began writing with Bruno Mars, and songwriter and executive Steve Lindsey served as their mentor. He played cover songs in a band with Mars around Los Angeles.[5]
Around 2007, Bhasker began his association with rapper/producer Kanye West.[12] Initially serving as a substitute keyboardist on the recommendation of his friend and West's tour DJ A-Trak, West was impressed with his musical ability and hired him for West's Glow in the Dark Tour as his musical director.[13] 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's The Monster Ball Tour.[14] Bhasker collaborated on West's albums 808s & Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the Jay-Z/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 for West's "All of the Lights", and the Jay-Z/Rihanna/Kanye West song "Run This Town".[15] 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 Mark Ronson, and Harry Styles' 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 Mark Ronson's single "Uptown Funk", which earned him a 2016 Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Additionally, he received the 2016 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for his achievements in producing that year.[16]
His RIAA multi-platinum selling records include Kanye West's "Love Lockdown", "Runaway", "Monster" and "Power", Jay-Z's "Run this Town", Drake's "Find Your Love", Fun's "We Are Young", "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 a interview with GQ:
It kind of started out as me creating a character to be a songwriter. I wanted to keep it separate at first, but now I kind of like the idea that people know it’s me. It kind of defines the parameters. The Billy Craven stuff is a little bit darker, it deals with social themes like the war and death. It’s Blue-Eyed Soul meets Marilyn Manson. U.G.L.Y. is more a lighter side—a lot of humor and crassness—it’s commentary on a lot of these swaggy songs. It pokes a little fun at the state of contemporary pop and urban music.
[1] When speaking on the Billy Kraven's pseudonym 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 meets Wes Craven."[17]
Discography
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Primary artist | Category | Results | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Swagga Like Us" | Jay-Z | Best Rap Song | Nominated | [18] |
| 2010 | "Run This Town" | Won | |||
| 2012 | "All of the Lights" | Kanye West | Won | ||
| Song of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2013 | "We Are Young" | Fun | Won | ||
| Record of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Some Nights | Album of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Himself | Producer of the Year, Non-Classical | Nominated | |||
| 2014 | "Locked Out of Heaven" | Bruno Mars | Record of the Year | Nominated | |
| "Just Give Me a Reason" | Pink | Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Red | Taylor Swift | Album of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | x | Ed Sheeran | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | "Uptown Funk" | Mark Ronson | Record of the Year | Won | |
| Himself | Producer of the Year, Non-Classical | Won | |||
| 2017 | "Kiss It Better" | Rihanna | Best R&B Song | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Donda | Kanye West | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
Filmography
- A Man Named Scott (2021) – Himself
References
- 1 2 "The Man Behind Fun: Meet Jeff Bhasker, the Most In-Demand, Grammy-Winning Producer You've Never Heard of". February 14, 2013.
- ↑ Horowitz, Steven J. (January 9, 2013). "Fun. Producer Jeff Bhasker Caps Big Year With Grammy Nods". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Grammy Awards 2016: See the Full Winners List". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
- ↑ Bhasker, Jeff (January 23, 2010). "Twitter / JeffBhasker: 6) I was born in Kansas city ka". Twitter.
- 1 2 Fekadu, Mesfin (January 31, 2013). "Producer Behind Fun. Takes Center Stage at Grammys". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ↑ Small, Mark. "Producer on Fire". Berklee College of Music. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Barteau, Suzanne (February 15, 2012). "Socorro star shoots higher". El Defensor-Chieftain. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ↑ Tingen, Paul (October 2012). "Jeff Bhasker on mixing 'We Are Young'". Sound on Sound. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ↑ Greenhaus, Mike https://relix.com/articles/detail/interview_jeff_bhasker_on_lettuce_the_uptown_funk_phenomenon_and_more/ Relix
- ↑ LeDonne, Rob (July 10, 2013). "Jeff Bhasker: Music's Go-To Guy". American Songwriter. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ↑ Bud Scoppa (March 1, 2013). "Jeff Bhasker's Amazing Year". Mix Online. Archived from the original on January 10, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ↑ "Alumni Grammy Award Winners". Berklee College of Music. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Superproducer Jeff Bhasker Reveals the Secrets of Working With Kanye West". Complex. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
- ↑ "Billboard Magazine". Google Books. April 3, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- ↑ Anderson, Kyle (December 10, 2010). "Kanye West's 'Runaway' Is MTV News' #2 Song Of 2010". MTV. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ↑ "Grammy Awards 2016: See the Full Winners List". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Famous Behind the Scenes, A Hitmaker Covets the Spotlight". NPR.org.
- ↑ "Jeff Bhasker". Grammy. Retrieved February 9, 2020.