Isle Of Wight Radio Emerging Artist — Fugo Kid

Dominic Kureen
39 minutes ago
4 min read

One of the Isle of Wight’s most exciting young hip-hop talents, Fugo Kid (real name Jack Portuito), dropped into the Isle of Wight Radio studio for a chat this week.

The talented musician will take his place as one of the finalists for Wight Noize tomorrow (Wednesday April 15th), with the winner securing a Main Stage slot at this summer's Isle of Wight Festival.

First off, where did the name ‘Fugo Kid’ come from?

It started with a character from anime I watched back during (Covid) lockdown called Fugo Pannacotta.

Then I saw Kid Cudi had the word 'kid' in his name despite being 40 years-old, so I thought I'd put the two together!

I wasn't sure at first, but now I hear it all the time and it's grown on me.

You’ve just released your new EP ‘UFOs’ – can you share a bit of the inspiration behind that?

I had the idea for UFOs as a totally different album concept initially but scrapped that (to create the EP).

The concept is about being true to yourself and focusing on good moments, good times — I remember going out to see the aurora borealis with some mates and we saw these shooting lights that were UFO-like, and that's where the idea and name for the EP came from.

Recently I went with my friend Jack Jordan-Jones (who features on the EP) to a Loyle Carner gig in Brixton, and that inspired me to make something true to myself.

I'd tried experimenting with upbeat house music in the past but it didn't feel as authentic, so I decided to make the EP as true to myself as possible.

You seem to use jazz as a backdrop for some of your tracks, is that another genre that’s close to your heart?

I like jazz a lot and try to incorporate that with hip-hop.

It's been the main inspiration for my sound to fuse those two together.

Is it inspiring to see the procession of Isle of Wight musicians making national and international waves in recent years?

It is really cool seeing the success coming from the Island, there's a lot of musical potential and it's still very untapped.

So it's great seeing the likes of Wet Leg, Coach Party and ugly ozo making waves further afield.

Are there any other local musicians that stand-out as people worth keeping an ear to the ground for?

The two who worked with me on the EP — Jack Jordan and Rhiannon Maia — who made it sound amazing with their vocals.

Also a shout-out to Daysi and Luca (below) what they're doing is really cool.

You’ve been nominated for Wight Noize – where the winner gets to perform on the Isle of Wight Festival Main Stage – what would that opportunity mean to you?

I'm looking forward to it but I'm also really nervous.

It's a big opportunity to play the Main Stage of the Isle of Wight Festival... Ultimately I'm really excited to be performing there.

You’ve supported previous Wight Noize winners '5 Degrees North', did you seek them out for any advice about the festival?

I used to go to school with them and we're friends, so I might ask them about the process and how it felt being up on a stage like that (if I win).

Who are your major global influences musically speaking?

I've got a lot of UK artists I'm inspired by — Loyle Carner is a massive one, Niko B is another amazing rapper, and expanding out there's an artist called Lausse the Cat.

On a more global scale, I went to see Tyler the Creator in London and he had insane energy, insane sets and I loved what he did creatively.

What’s been your favourite live performance so far?

The most memorable to me is my first (solo) one, opening for 5 Degrees North.

I was really nervous beforehand, wasn't sure how I'd cope but it went really well and felt like a massive moment.

Since then I've done a few more gigs with 5 Degrees North and joined Rascal Raves (DJ collective events held at Strings) to help host those, and that's really helped me to step up.

Getting up there is always nerve-wracking, but once I'm on the stage it feels like second nature.

You ran into Rhian from Wet Leg for the first time recently, how did that go?

I was out supporting some friends at a DJ competition and then she was stood right behind me, so I ended up talking to her for a bit, she'd actually heard my music but didn't know I was Fugo Kid as I had a hat and sunglasses on in the pictures!

We ended up talking about music, the Island and some other things - it was a really nice interaction out of the blue.

What are your ambitions for the rest of 2026 and beyond?

First off I've got Wight Noize (tomorrow) and I'm opening at Strings again the following night for 5 Degrees North and I'm hoping to get on stage at a few festivals this summer.

I want to do more live performances and it would be cool to get at least one gig in Guildford and to dive heavily into my music.

To find out more about Fugo Kid check out his socials below!

YouTube

Instagram

Spotify