Hugh started making music at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was initially an athlete studying history and public policy. While there, he started rapping at college parties, and then made the commitment to pursue it.
When he left school to be a rapper, his parents told him he had to move out, which Hugh says was "a rude awakening, but one that I was so rooted in that I made the decision to move out with my best friend."
He started working as a soccer coach, and met a lot of new people, including Marty Thordson, now the band's saxophonist. About a year after meeting, Thordson texted Hugh an invite to jam with his band.
The Marshall Law Band began with Hugh, Thordson, Evan Robertson, Josh Richins, Zack Olson, and their first drummer (later replaced with current drummer Matt). After about four months, they began playing Mo' Jam Mondays in Fremont, where Hugh met I Am ChAmel for the first time.
"I heard somebody rapping on the microphone for the first time and I said, 'Whoa, that person might be better than me!'" said Hugh. "And I looked over... and I saw [her]... She's been showing up at any Marshall Law Band gig she can, including... selling out the Boom Boom Room with us."
The band works with other vocalists too, including Nobi and Dan Gregory.
"If you're an MC, if you're a person, especially a person of color or person in a marginalized community, you have space on this stage with the Marshall Law Band to say whatever message you got."

Activism and mission

The Marshall Law Band has played at protests, including at what would then develop into CHOP, where they wanted to share a "message of love, unity, and overcoming the chains we have been shackled with over generations and generations [... which] brought the healing and the reenergization out to pre-CHOP [...for that] art boom to occur and that love to be in that space."

I Am ChAmel committed to joining the Marshall Law Band there. She says people "could find peace and solace in the music," because it was a different form of leadership and a break from some stress. I Am ChAmel adds that together they could "bring people together through music and send messages of love and positivity and equality and [...] we can use words to heal, to unite to express, to change. I don't know how much more peaceful you can get. I don't know how much more of an impact can be made, because music is everywhere."

"The whole mission has been unity and bringing community together," Hugh said.

Hugh hopes that the Marshall Law Band's music inspires listeners to be their best selves, allowing "your soul to heal and your well to fill in hopes that that spills out into your own community."

I Am ChAmel says that she uses her platform and lived experiences to inspire people. She uses her voice remind people that life will get better and bring light to experiences with oppression. Music is her way of connecting with others, and she works to ensure that listeners remember that they are not alone by sharing songs that resonate with them.

As a whole, Hugh's goal is "breaking open the Pacific Northwest portal," and he is proud to be a part of Seattle's music and activism scenes.

Recent projects

Earlier this year, the Marshall Law Band released 12th & Pine, an album, documentary, and graphic novel. The album came out of the band's heavy emotions following the protests at CHOP. Hugh said, "Protest music has been a part of our spirit."
More recently, the band has been working hard on their newest album, It's Gonna Get Better, on which they collaborated with other artists. It is scheduled for release in the fall. Their new music, including the song Get Better, focuses on finding common ground and facilitating spaces for dialogue.
The band worked on the songs on a sabbatical to Hawaii, where they experienced more positive energy. The album, said Hugh, will "encapsulate the spirit of what we're going through but also have that Hawaiian sun and feel to it."
The band recently took played music on a float on the streets of Duvall, where they interacted with people who had Confederate flags and antipathy toward the Black Lives Matter movement. Hugh said to them, "People of all different colors, sexual orientations, and beliefs are here to let you know that we love you, and we're going to unite you, and it's going to get better."
He said that he is proud to bring music about love and unity, and to say Black lives do matter, even in uncomfortable places.
I Am ChAmel added that "sometimes we do ourselves a disservice by not being open to that dialogue and not coming together to even speak up for what we feel and how we feel." She added that receptiveness to having dialogue is important, so that everyone can learn from each other's experiences.