Hugo Chakrabongse Levy (born 6 August 1981), known under the mononym Hugo or Thai name Chulachak Chakrabongse ( th, จุลจักร จักรพงษ์; ) is a Thai American actor and singer-songwriter. Based in New York City and signed to

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

label, his musical style has been dubbed by Roc Nation as "gangsta-rock". He is best known for his bluegrass re-working of Jay-Z's "

99 Problems "99 Problems" is the third single released by American rapper Jay-Z in 2004 from '' The Black Album''. It was released on April 27, 2004. The chorus hook "I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one" is taken from the Ice-T single "99 Problems" f ...

". His debut album, ''Old Tyme Religion'', was released on 10 May 2011. He can trace direct royal heritage back from his maternal great-grandfather, Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, a son of King Rama V of Thailand, and is a

second cousin once removed Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...

of the King of Thailand, King

Vajiralongkorn Vajiralongkorn ( th, วชิราลงกรณ; , ; born 28 July 1952) is the King of Thailand. He is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. In 1972, at the age of 20, he was made crown prince by his father. After his ...

Early life and career

Levy was born in London to M.R.

Narisa Chakrabongse Narisa Chakrabongse is a writer, publisher, and environmental activist. The only daughter of Prince Chula Chakrabongse, and the only granddaughter of Prince Chakrabongse and his Ukrainian wife Katerina Desnitskaya, a great-granddaughter of th ...

, raised in Thailand near the

Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Et ...

, and used to live in the

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the eas ...

neighborhood of New York City. Now he resides in Bangkok, Thailand. He is the grandson of Prince

Chula Chakrabongse Chula Chakrabongse ( th, จุลจักรพงษ์; ; 28 March 1908 – 30 December 1963), was a member of the family of the Chakri Dynasty of Thailand and of the House of Chakkraphong. He was the only child of Prince Chakrabongse Bhuva ...

, the great-grandson of

Chakrabongse Bhuvanath Field Marshal Chakrabongse Bhuvanath, the Prince of Bishnulok ( th, จักรพงษ์ภูวนาถ; ; 3 March 1883 – 13 June 1920), was the 40th child of King Chulalongkorn and the fourth child of Queen Sri Bajarindra. Biograph ...

, and the great-great-grandson of King

Rama V Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

of Siam. He is of English, Russian, Scottish, Thai and Ukrainian heritage. 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 Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

and

Skip James Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "This emotional, lyrical performer was a talented blues guitarist and arranger with an impressive ...

as well as more modern musicians and bands such as

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

MGMT MGMT () is an American indie rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. Alongside VanWyngarden and Goldwasser, MGMT's live lineup currently consists of ...

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (sometimes abbreviated to BRMC) is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. The group originally consisted of Peter Hayes (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Robert Levon Been (vocals, bass, guitar), and Ni ...

, Devendra Banhart,

The Big Pink The Big Pink are an English electronic rock band from London, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Robertson "Robbie" Furze, Akiko Matsuura and Charlie Barker. Initially a duo, they signed to independent record label 4AD in 2009 and won the ...

and

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

. He achieved recognition when his song "Disappear" was featured on

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

'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.

Personal life

Hugo is Muslim; he converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

to marry his longtime girlfriend, Tassanawalai Ongartitthichai, in 2009. The couple have two children.

Band

* Jon Cornell – bass * Mark Slutsky – drums * Chris LoPresto – keyboards * Jay Barclay – guitar

Discography

Studio albums

(2011) Old Tyme Religion # Old Tyme Religion # 99 Problems # Bread & Butter # Rock 'n' Roll Delight # Hopelessly Stoned # Hurt Makes It Beautiful # Born # Mekong River Delta # Sweetest Cure # Different Lives # Just a Shred # Wake Alone # Sai Lom (สายลม) (Thailand Edition) (2014) Deep in the Long Grass # Twitch and Tug # I Need the Truth # Secrets and Lies # Quiet Fire # Hailstorms # Nightshift # All I Think About # A Fire Worth Keeping # The Long Grass # Down the River # Feather (2017) ดำสนิท # ดำสนิท # อย่ามาให้เห็น # ครอบครอง # อานม้า # ระวัง # แค่มีเธอ # แพ้ให้เป็น # ยอม # Love Song No. 9 # บันไดสีแดง

EP

(2020) Lacuna # Call of the Void # All That I Know # The Deals We Make # Deeper Still # House of Mercy # Show Love

Pop culture references

Hugo's version of "99 Problems," his first single, was featured in the

Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...

Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a ...

romantic comedy '' No Strings Attached'', in the 2011 remake of ''

Fright Night ''Fright Night'' is a 1985 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland (in his directorial debut) and produced by Herb Jaffe. It stars Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall, Amanda Bearse, Jonathan Star ...

'', and in the pilot episode of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

thriller series ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily s ...

''. "Bread and Butter" was featured on the season two television promo for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's comedy-drama series

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. This same song also featured on the seventh season of HBO's hit series, Entourage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hugo 1981 births Living people

Hugo (musician) Hugo Chakrabongse Levy (born 6 August 1981), known under the mononym Hugo or Thai name Chulachak Chakrabongse ( th, จุลจักร จักรพงษ์; ) is a Thai American actor and singer-songwriter. Based in New York City and sign ...

Chakrabongse family British male singer-songwriters Musicians from London Roc Nation artists Thai Muslims Converts to Islam from Buddhism Thai television personalities English-language singers from Thailand 20th-century Thai male actors Male actors from Bangkok Thai male film actors Thai male television actors