Jeff Bhasker

Jeff Bhasker (also known as Billy Kraven and U.G.L.Y.) is an American record producer, songwriter, keyboardist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. He collaborated with rapper and producer Kanye West on the albums 808s & Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and Watch the Throne. He has won Grammy Awards for the songs "Run This Town" by Jay-Z, "All of the Lights" by Kanye West, and "We Are Young" by Fun.

Career

Bhasker was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and raised in Socorro, New Mexico. His mother played the piano and his Indian-born father was a medical doctor and the town's mayor for 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 in Boston, Massachusetts. He gigged around Boston as a keyboardist and played in a wedding band. After playing with the '70s 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. One of his first productions was with neo soul singer Goapele, on her album Even Closer (2002). Bhasker produced a song on rapper The Game's first album, The Documentary (2005).