From Socorro To The Grammys

Walt sends this regarding a fellow from familiar, small-town New Mexico who co-won a Grammy for Best Rap Song:

No, Jeff Bhasker's Grammy-winning song "Run This Town" is not about his dad being the mayor of Socorro.

"Actually, Kanye West wrote that part," he said, in a Feb. 5 telephone interview. "I wrote some of the part that Rihanna sings."

"Run This Town," won Best Rap Song at the 52nd Grammy Awards on Jan. 31. The song was co-written by Jeff Bhasker, Shawn Carter, Robyn Fenty (Rihanna,) Kanye West and Ernest Wilson.

This is the first Grammy for Jeff Bhasker, but not his first Grammy nomination. He's come a long way from that first gig at El Sombrero Restaurant and he credits his success with always trying to work hard at it, believing in himself, and being really lucky.

"I've been really lucky to run into people who reinforced the idea in me that I could do it," he said. "The most important thing is to not give up."

After graduating from Socorro High School in 1993, Bhasker attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he started out studying jazz. He traveled back and forth between Boston and New York for several years. The day he finally packed his car and moved to New York was a day that changed not just his life, but also the lives of many others.

"Actually, I moved to New York on 9/11," he said. "That made it a different place. It was kind of a struggle, people were in survival mode. It was a toughening up process."

In New York, Bhasker said he became more interested in art and design. He began to focus less on the technical aspects of music and more on the artistic side, and worked with musicians who really inspired him.

"New Yorkers have a real 'let's do this' attitude," Bhasker said. "I took that attitude with me when I moved to L.A."

Bhasker's first big break came when he produced the title track on The Game's "The Documentary," which sold more than 3 million albums. At the time he was working on composing hip-hop beats for rappers and says he gradually became more interested in melody to "unite the words and music together."

"Kanye West is really interested in melody, and he's a really inspirational person to work with," Bhasker said. "He has the confidence to believe that he can be great and the attitude to work at it every moment."

Bhasker comes back to Socorro fairly often.

"I love Socorro," he said. "It's not your average little small town. I had lots of great teachers in Socorro, and great opportunities."

...According to Neil Jacobson, senior vice president of Interscope Records, "Jeff Bhasker is by far the hottest new producer in the music industry."

Bhasker's credits include producing and co-producing songs on albums by Goapele, The Game, Myka Nyne, Kanye West, Leona Lewis, Adam Lambert, Kid Cudi and Jay-Z. Other artists he's worked with include Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne and Robin Thicke. In addition to his production and writing credits he's also a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist.

"He has an uncanny ability to accomplish whatever he sets his mind to," said Nick Fleming, who was Bhasker's teacher in Communication Science at Socorro High School. "And he's been on Saturday Night Live five times."

Bhasker is the first person from Socorro Schools ever to win a Grammy.