What is Chad Hugo's Net Worth?
Chad Hugo is an American musician and record producer who has a net worth of $50 million. Chad Hugo is best known for his work with singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams. Together, the pair formed the production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, and later formed the band N.E.R.D. with Shay Haley. Meanwhile, outside of the Neptunes, Hugo has produced records by such artists as Kenna, Ashlee Simpson, Yuna, SG Lewis, and Hudson Mohawke.
Early Life and Education
Chad Hugo was born on February 24, 1974 in Portsmouth, Virginia to Filipino immigrant parents. His father served in the United States Navy, and his mother worked as a lab technician in a hospital. Hugo has an older brother and sister, with whom he was encouraged by his parents to study piano as a kid. As a teenager, he attended Kempsville High School, where he was a drummer in the marching band.
The Neptunes
While attending a summer band camp in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Hugo met and befriended Pharrell Williams. Both played instruments at the camp, Hugo the tenor saxophone and Williams the drums. The two went on to form the music production duo the Neptunes in 1992. They subsequently entered a local talent contest, where they were discovered by record producer Teddy Riley. Through Riley, the Neptunes wrote the song "Rump Shaker" for the group Wreckx-n-Effect. Additionally, they worked with Riley's R&B group Blackstreet, co-writing the single "Tonight's the Night." The Neptunes became a prolific production duo throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s. Among their notable credits in the late 90s, they produced Noreaga's single "Superthug" and Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got Your Money," as well as Kelis's debut studio album "Kaleidoscope." At the dawn of the new millennium, the Neptunes produced Jay-Z's single "I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me)" and Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass." In 2001, the duo had their first global hit with Britney Spears's single "I'm a Slave 4 U," from the singer's eponymous third studio album. The Neptunes went on to write and produce most of Justin Timberlake's debut solo album "Justified"; they also wrote and produced NSYNC's final single, "Girlfriend."
In 2003, the Neptunes released a compilation album entitled "Clones." Featuring tracks by Kelis, Busta Rhymes, Clipse, and Snoop Dogg, among others, the album made it to number one on the Billboard 200. The biggest single from the album was Pharrell Williams's "Frontin'," featuring Jay-Z, which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2004, the Neptunes had an even greater hit with Snoop Dogg's "Drop it Like it's Hot," which made it to number one. Other notable tracks produced by the duo have included Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" and "Wind it Up" and Ludacris's "Money Maker." They also produced Mariah Carey's album "The Emancipation of Mimi." Overall, the Neptunes have earned 12 Grammy Award nominations, winning four, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2004.
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N.E.R.D.
With fellow former high school student Shay Haley, Hugo and Williams formed the hip hop and rock band N.E.R.D. in 1999. The name of the group is a backronym for "No-one Ever Really Dies." With the Neptunes as producer, N.E.R.D. released its debut album, "In Search of…," in 2001. That was followed three years later by "Fly or Die," which reached number six on the Billboard 200 to give N.E.R.D. its highest-charting album. The group disbanded in 2005, but got back together in 2008 and released the album "Seeing Sounds." Subsequently, the band released "Nothing" in 2010. After a seven-year silence, N.E.R.D. released its fifth album, "No One Ever Really Dies," in late 2017. It features guest appearances by Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Gucci Mane, Future, and M.I.A., among others.
Solo Producing Career
In addition to his work as part of the Neptunes, Hugo has produced records as a solo producer. In 2003, with Kenna, he produced Kenna's debut studio album "New Sacred Cow." He went on to co-produce Kenna's EP "The Black Goodbye" and her album "Make Sure They See My Face" in 2007. The year after that, Hugo was a producer on Ashlee Simpson's album "Bittersweet World." He has since produced songs for Sierra Swan; JoJo; Yuna; No Malice; Fugitive 9; Jallal; SG Lewis; Rakeem Miles; Hudson Mohawke; and Keith Ape, among many other artists.
Personal Life
With his wife Priscilla Lynch, Hugo has a son. He also has two children from a previous marriage.
