Raif Özkan Ugur, a renowned Turkish pop musician and actor, was born on October 17, 1953, in Istanbul, as the fifth child of his family. He began his musical journey at Resat Nuri Güntekin Primary School, where he met and started playing the mandolin. Later, while studying at Fenerbahçe High School, he formed a band called Atomikler, covering popular songs of the time.
Özkan started his professional career as a musician in the Serif Yüzbasioglu Orchestra as a bass guitarist. In 1971, he joined Mazhar Alanson and Fuat Güner in the duo "Kaygisizlar" ("The Unworrieds"),which was dissolved in 1972. Between 1972 and 1975, Özkan played Anatolian rock music with Baris Manço in his band Kurtalan Ekspres, in "TER" of Erkin Koray, "Dostlar" of Edip Akbayram, "Kardaslar" of Seyhan Karabay, and "Dadaslar" of Ersen.
In 1976, Özkan left the Anatolian rock music genre and joined the quintet "Ipucu" led by the MFÖ trio. He then formed the band "Grup Karma" with Galip Boransu and Cengiz Teoman in 1978. Today, Özkan is a member of the group MFÖ, performing incredibly difficult vocals with his tenor timbre, while playing the bass guitar. He has released the single "Aynada" ("In The Mirror" in Turkish) from DMC in 2016.
In addition to his musical career, Özkan was a judge on O Ses Türkiye (2011),the Turkish version of The Voice. He has also spoken about the value of his bass guitar, stating that he has spent his life with it and would never sell it, even if offered billions of dollars.
