Hugo was born in England, raised in Thailand near the Chao Praya River, and now resides in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. As a teenager, he released four studio albums with the band Siplor, which had several of its records banned on the radio. After moving to London, he became highly influenced by blues musicians such as Howling Wolf, Son House, Robert Johnson and Skip James as well as more modern musicians and bands such as Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, Dr. Dre, Jeff Buckley, MGMT, Tame Impala, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Devendra Banhart, The Big Pink and Jack White. He achieved recognition when his song “Disappear” was featured on Beyoncé’s album I Am… Sasha Fierce, beginning a series of collaborations that led to a record deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label in 2010.Hugo’s version of “99 Problems,” his first single, was featured in the Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher romantic comedy No Strings Attached, in the 2011 remake of Fright Night, and in the pilot episode of the NBC thriller series The Blacklist.