Robert Glasper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Robert Glasper
Glasper in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Robert Andre Glasper
Born	(1978-04-06) April 6, 1978 (age 47)
Origin	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Jazz hip hop R&B neo soul fusion jazz
Occupation(s)	Record producer songwriter arranger keyboardist
Instruments	Piano Fender Rhodes keyboards
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Sounds of Crenshaw Loma Vista Columbia Legacy Blue Note Fresh Sounds

Robert Glasper (born April 6, 1978) is an American pianist, music producer, and songwriter. He is known for mixing different music styles. His music often combines jazz with hip hop and R&B. Robert Glasper has won five Grammy Awards, which are big awards in music.

One of his most famous albums is Black Radio, released in 2012. This album became very popular. It even won a Grammy for Best R&B Album. He later released a second album called Black Radio 2.

Besides his own music, Robert Glasper has worked with many other artists. He has helped write or produce albums for stars like Mac Miller and Anderson .Paak. He also won an Primetime Emmy Award for his song "A Letter to the Free". This song was in a documentary film called 13th. He has also created music for other films like The Apollo and The Photograph.

Robert Glasper is also an "Artist in Residence" at famous music places. This means he spends time performing and teaching there. Some of these places include the London Jazz Festival and Carnegie Hall.

Robert Glasper's Journey

Robert Glasper playing live in Germany in 2016

Early Life and Music

Robert Glasper's first music teacher was his mother, Kim Yvette Glasper. She was a professional jazz and blues singer. She often took him to her club performances. His mother was also the music director at their church. This is where Robert first played music for an audience.

He played in different churches, including Baptist, Catholic, and Seventh-day Adventist. Robert says he learned his unique sound in church. He learned how to mix church and gospel music with jazz.

Glasper went to Elkins High School in Texas. He also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. When he was 15, he played with the jazz band at Texas Southern University. Later, he went to the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. There, he met singer Bilal. They started playing together. This led Robert to work with many hip hop and R&B artists.

Hip Hop Connections

Robert Glasper has worked with many famous hip hop and R&B artists. These include Q-Tip, Mos Def, and Maxwell. He says the group A Tribe Called Quest helped him get into hip hop music.

Music Career Milestones

Robert Glasper's music career really took off while he was still in college. He started touring with famous jazz musicians. These included bassist Christian McBride and trumpeters Terence Blanchard and Roy Hargrove. At the same time, he became good friends with Bilal. They became part of a growing hip hop and neo soul music scene. He worked with artists like Jill Scott and The Roots. Robert also became the music director for Yasiin Bey.

Glasper released his first album, Mood, in 2002. This album featured six of his own songs. It also included jazz songs like Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage". It was mostly a piano trio album.

In 2005, Glasper released Canvas. This was his first album with Blue Note Records. It featured his main piano trio band. The album had nine of his own songs. It also included a cover of Herbie Hancock's "Riot".

His third album, In My Element, came out in 2007. It had songs honoring his mother and hip hop producer J Dilla. He also mixed jazz and rock music on this album. He played a jazz song that blended into a Radiohead song.

Glasper's 2009 album, Double-Booked, showed his two main styles. Some songs were played by his acoustic piano trio. Other songs were played by his electric group, The Experiment. This album featured guest singers like Bilal and Yasiin Bey. One song, "All Matter," was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 2012, Glasper released his very important album, Black Radio. It featured many neo-soul and hip hop artists. These included Lupe Fiasco, Bilal, and Erykah Badu. Black Radio was a big success. It won the 2013 Grammy for Best R&B Album.

In 2013, Glasper released Black Radio 2. The Robert Glasper Experiment band was still at its core. It featured Robert Glasper on keyboards, Derrick Hodge on bass, Mark Colenburg on drums, and Casey Benjamin on vocoder and saxophone. Many guest singers joined, like Common and Snoop Dogg. A song on this album, "Jesus Children of America," won a Grammy Award in 2015.

In 2015, Robert Glasper released Covered. This album was a return to his acoustic piano trio style. It featured cover songs from many different artists. These included Radiohead, John Legend, and Kendrick Lamar. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Also in 2015, Glasper helped produce a tribute album for Nina Simone. He also worked on the film Miles Ahead. This movie was about jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Glasper says Miles Davis is a big influence on his music. The film's soundtrack won him a Grammy Award in 2017.

In 2016, Glasper released Everything's Beautiful. This album was another tribute to Miles Davis. It used samples and new versions of Davis's original music. The album featured artists like Stevie Wonder and Erykah Badu.

Later in 2016, Glasper's electric group, the Robert Glasper Experiment, released ArtScience. This was the first album where all band members wrote and produced songs. It did not have any guest singers.

In 2018, Glasper started two new music groups. One was R+R=Now. The other was August Greene with Common and Karriem Riggins. R+R=Now's first album, Collagically Speaking, came out in 2018. August Greene released their first album in 2018 too.

Since 2018, Glasper has held a special month-long event at the Blue Note Jazz Club every year. He plans unique shows and invites many famous artists to perform with him.

In 2019, Glasper was an Artist in Residence at the North Sea Jazz Festival. He also composed music for the documentary The Apollo.

In 2020, Glasper wrote the music for the film The Photograph. He also formed a new supergroup called Dinner Party. They released their first album in July 2020. In August 2020, Glasper released "Better Than I Imagined." This was the first song from his upcoming Black Radio 3 album. He also worked with Common on a song for the Netflix show Bookmarks.

On January 14, 2022, Glasper announced Black Radio III. This was the third album in his Black Radio series.

Musical Style

Robert Glasper's music is known for being very diverse. He has two main bands. The Robert Glasper Trio plays acoustic jazz. The Robert Glasper Experiment is an electronic group that mixes many styles.

Glasper says his electric band can "go anywhere" musically. They combine neo-soul, hip hop, jazz, gospel, and R&B. He also plays his own versions of songs by rock bands like Nirvana and Radiohead.

Glasper says Miles Davis has greatly influenced his music. He tries to make music that reflects the current times, just like Miles Davis did.

Awards and Nominations

Grammy Awards

Discography

Studio Albums

EPs

• Black Radio Recovered: The Remix EP (Blue Note, 2012)
• Porter Chops Glasper (Blue Note, February 25, 2014)
• Dinner Party with Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder (Sounds of Crenshaw/Empire, July 10, 2020)
• Enigmatic Society with Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder (Sounds of Crenshaw/Empire, April 14, 2023)

Soundtracks

• Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Columbia/Legacy, 2015)
• The Photograph: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Back Lot Music, 2020)

With R+R=Now

• Collagically Speaking (Blue Note, 2018)