Heather Hunter

Heather Keisha Hunter (born October 1, 1969), nicknamed Double H, is an American rapper, painter, author, and pornographic actress. She is a member of the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.

Early life

Hunter was born in The Bronx, New York, to a funeral salesman. She left home at 16 and supported herself by working as a clerk at the Latin Quarter, one of the first downtown/midtown clubs to play rap. At the age of 18, she answered an ad in ''The Village Voice'' for striptease artists. Pictorials in ''Players'' and '' Swank'' followed. Subsequently, the offers to appear in pornographic films started to emerge.

Career

Film and television

Hunter entered the adult film business in 1988 and her career peaked in the mid-'90s. She was one of the few performers to use her actual name rather than a stage alias. She became known for her interracial- and lesbian-themed films. In her hometown she was a mainstay on the ''Robin Byrd Show'' and was a frequent performer.

From 1990 to 1992, during her Los Angeles years, Hunter was a dancer on the TV show ''Soul Train''. Hunter has described how she was able to conceal her porn career from ''Soul Train'' producer Don Cornelius. She also played the role of a hooker in the black comedy horror film Frankenhooker as Chartreuse.

She got her start while dancing at the Latin Quarter in New York City, where she met adult film actress Hyapatia Lee, who suggested she perform in movies. Her first video, ''Heather Hunter On Fire'', came out in 1988. She did a few low-budget movies for New York-based Vidway before moving to Los Angeles and eventually becoming the first African-American woman to be a Vivid Entertainment contract girl. She has 51 videos and 1 directorial effort to her credit on the Internet Adult Film Database; her final adult video appears to be ''Honeywood'', released in 1999. Old scenes with Hunter continue to be released in numerous compilations.

In 1996, she, Nina Hartley, and Angel Kelly appeared in the music video of Tupac Shakur's ''How Do U Want It''.

Hunter was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame appeared in non-sex roles in Hustler's ''Can You Be A Pornstar?''

Hunter was inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame in 2022.

Music career

Hunter has been involved with music professionally since 1993, when she was under contract with Island Records doing House music. She released a song titled "I Want It All Night Long." Hunter later worked for Tommy Boy Records without much progress, as the company did not know whether to market her as an R&B or pop singer.

Hunter released an 18-track rap music album on July 12, 2005, titled ''Double H: The Unexpected''. She released the music through Blo Records label, owned by her long-time manager, Dave Copeland. Hunter is the company's CEO. In creating the album, she worked with well-known music producers DJ Premier and Scott Storch. Guests on her album include Akinyele, Madison Taylor, plus Chalu and Erin Yes. Hunter's old adult movie friend Janet Jacme appears on the interlude of "My Toolbox." "So Serious" was the only single released from the album. The single and her album's title refers to Hunter's desire to be taken seriously as a hip-hop musician. Hunter said in a ''VIBE'' interview:

From 1998 to 2000, Hunter hosted ''The Peep Show'' on pay-per-view TV. The program was originally hosted by rapper Luther Campbell as ''Luke's Peep Show.'' It was a raunchy interview show that aired uncensored music videos. On a 1998 episode, she met rapper Akinyele, who encouraged her to pursue a music career after hearing a sample of her raps. He later appeared with Mr. Cee on ''Double H: The Unexpected''.

Hunter has recorded with Esham ("All Night Everyday" off his album '' Tongues''). Songs also feature Kool Keith ("I Wanna Play" off his album ''Spankmaster''), N.O.R.E. ("Big D" off his album ''God's Favorite''. Also features Akinyele & Khia), Bubba Sparxxx ("Would You Like", which was cut from his album ''Deliverance''), Above the Law ("Freak In Me" and "Playas, Gangstas And Ballers" from their album ''Sex, Money & Music'').

Songs

* "I Want It All Night Long" (1993)
* "So Serious" (2005)
* "In Love"
* "Orgasmic"

Painting and writing

Hunter has had an interest in art since she was a child, when she began painting portraits of family members. She furthered this love by majoring in design and illustration at High School of Fashion Industries in New York City. For a short time during her teenage years, she was involved in illegal graffiti art as Ms. 45, but quit after being cited by the police. She enrolled in a special workshop under the direction of renowned street artist, Keith Haring.

In June 2006, Hunter opened her own art gallery, Artcore-NYC, in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, New York. She debuted her "Hunter Collection" paintings as the gallery's first exhibition. The gallery was located at 111 Front Street, and as of 2007 there was an ongoing search for a new location.

She wrote a novel, ''Insatiable: The Rise of a Porn Star'', by Hunter and Michelle Valentine, which was published on July 24, 2007, by St. Martin's Press. It purports to tell the story of Simone Young, a young woman with a career and background similar to Hunter's. In an interview, Hunter implied that her story would be fictionalized to protect the privacy of others. A plagiarism suit was filed against Hunter by Dianne Miller; Miller claimed she gave a manuscript to Hunter back in 2005 and Hunter used a number of passages verbatim from Miller's manuscript for her own novel. In November 2008, a judge dismissed most of the claims against Hunter.

References

Interviews

Heather Hunter: Not What You'd Expect
MVRemix, June 2005


Tha Biz, June 2005

Heather Hunter: Life After Porn Stardom
Black Voices, July 2007


Urban Reviews, August 2007

External links

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Artcore-NYC gallery

Heather Hunter Double H The Unexpected Review

Heather Hunter
on My Space.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Heather
1969 births
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American painters
21st-century American women writers
African-American women artists
African-American female models
Female models from New York (state)
African-American models
20th-century African-American women singers
African-American women writers
African-American novelists
African-American pornographic film actors
American women rappers
African-American women rappers
American female adult models
American pornographic film actresses
American house musicians
American women novelists
American women painters
African-American actresses
Bisexual artists
Bisexual pornographic film actresses
Bisexual musicians
Bisexual writers
Women pornographic film directors
LGBT adult models
LGBT African Americans
American LGBT artists
American LGBT musicians
LGBT people from New York (state)
LGBT rappers
Living people
Pornographic film actors from New York (state)
Rappers from the Bronx
Rappers from Manhattan
Writers from Manhattan
American LGBT novelists
21st-century American women artists
Novelists from New York (state)
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American women musicians
American women in electronic music
African-American painters
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American artists
21st-century women rappers