Hrant Kenkulian (1901–1978), usually referred to as Udi Hrant ("ud-player Hrant") or sometimes as Hrant Emre ("Hrant of the soul") was an ud player of Turkish classical music, and a key transitional figure in its transformation into a contemporary popular music. He was an ethnic Armenian citizen of Turkey who spent most of his life in Turkey and wrote most of his lyrics in Turkish. He went to the United States of America to have his blindness treated, and performed while there.