Jeff Bhasker facts for kids

Jeffrey Nath Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American music producer and songwriter. He also plays many instruments. He lives in Los Angeles. Jeff won a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016. He was also nominated for this award in 2013.

Jeff became well-known for producing Kanye West's album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008. He continued to work with Kanye West on other albums like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and Watch the Throne (2011). He also helped with Kanye's tours and the album Donda (2021).

Besides Kanye West, Jeff has produced albums for other famous artists. These include Some Nights (2012) by Fun., Uptown Special (2015) by Mark Ronson, and Harry Styles' first album (2017).

Jeff has won Grammy Awards for his work on several hit songs. These include "Run This Town" for Jay-Z, "All of the Lights" for Kanye West, "We Are Young" for Fun., and "Uptown Funk" for Mark Ronson.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Jeff Bhasker was born in Kansas City, Kansas. He grew up in Socorro, New Mexico. His mother, who was born in America, is a pianist. His father, Ravi Bhasker, is a doctor from India. His dad was also the mayor of Socorro for over 24 years.

Jeff's mother and piano teacher introduced him to jazz music. He played in the jazz band at Socorro High School. After graduating in 1993, he studied jazz piano at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Jeff Bhasker's Music Career

Jeff started his music career playing keyboards in Boston. He also played in a wedding band. After playing with the R&B band Tavares, he moved to New York in 2001. He toured with the band Lettuce and started focusing more on writing songs.

One of his first projects was producing a song for the singer Goapele on her album Closer in 2001. He also produced a song on rapper The Game's first album, The Documentary, in 2005.

Moving to Los Angeles and Working with Stars

In 2005, Jeff moved to Los Angeles. He worked on demo songs for songwriter Diane Warren. He also started writing music with Bruno Mars. A songwriter named Steve Lindsey helped guide them. Jeff and Bruno Mars even played cover songs together in a band around Los Angeles.

Around 2007, Jeff began working with rapper and producer Kanye West. Jeff first filled in as a keyboard player for Kanye's tour. Kanye was very impressed with Jeff's musical skills. He hired Jeff to be the music director for his "Glow in the Dark Tour."

Jeff also worked on Kanye West's albums 808s & Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and the album Watch the Throne with Jay-Z. He helped create songs like "Welcome to Heartbreak" and "Runaway". Jeff won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song for Kanye West's "All of the Lights" and for the song "Run This Town" by Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West. Jeff and Kanye West worked together again on "Come to Life" for the 2021 album Donda.

Producing Hit Albums and Songs

After working with Kanye, Jeff produced the album Some Nights (2012) for the band Fun. He also worked on Uptown Special (2015) with Mark Ronson and Harry Styles' first album (2017). Jeff has worked with many artists across different music styles. These include Alicia Keys, Kid Cudi, Cam, Taylor Swift, Young Thug, and more.

Jeff helped write and produce Mark Ronson's hit song "Uptown Funk". This song won him a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 2016. He also won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 for all his amazing work that year.

Many of the songs Jeff produced have sold millions of copies. These include Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" and "Power". Other hits include Jay-Z's "Run This Town", Drake's "Find Your Love", and Fun.'s "We Are Young". He also worked on Pink's "Just Give Me a Reason", Bruno Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven", and Harry Styles' "Sign of the Times".

Musical Style and Alias

Jeff Bhasker sometimes uses the name Billy Kraven when he sings. He explained in an interview that he created this name to be a songwriter at first. He said he liked the idea of keeping it separate.

He mentioned that the "Billy Kraven" music is a bit darker. It talks about social topics like war and death. He described it as "Blue-Eyed Soul meets Marilyn Manson". He also mentioned another style called "U.G.L.Y." which is lighter and has more humor. He said it makes a little fun of today's pop and urban music. In 2013, he said he thought Billy Kraven sounded cooler and suited the dark pop songs he was making. He compared it to "Billy Joel meets Wes Craven".

Awards and Recognition

Jeff Bhasker has won several important awards for his music.

Grammy Awards

Film and Documentaries

• A Man Named Scott (2021) – Jeff appeared as himself in this film.