Van Hunt (born March 8, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He released his debut album, '' Van Hunt'', in 2004, and a follow-up, '' On the Jungle Floor'', in 2006, both on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

. He won the

Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ma ...

for appearing on the tribute version of the Sly & the Family Stone song, "

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attemp ...

", in 2007. He transitioned to

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. ...

where his 2008 album, ''Popular'', was shelved and would not be released until 2017. He self-released the compilation album ''Use in Case of Emergency'' in 2009.

Early life

Hunt was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

. His father, Van Hunt Sr., was a friend of

Ohio Players Ohio Players is an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and " Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of the women were models feat ...

drummer Jimmy "Diamond" Williams. Hunt took up the drums at age 7, and saxophone at the age of 8, later adding bass and keyboards.Foster, Saptosa (September 30, 2004).
Good Van Hunting
. ''

Creative Loafing Creative Loafing is an Atlanta-based publisher of a monthly arts and culture newspaper/magazine. The company publishes a 60,000 circulation monthly publication which is distributed to in-town locations and neighborhoods on the first Thursday of ...

''. Retrieved on December 8, 2007. Guitar was the last instrument he learned to play; he played guitar in a rock band called Royalty. Hunt moved to Arlington,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

for a short time before relocating to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

in 1996 to attend

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

, where he studied English, but soon dropped out. In Atlanta, he started producing a few hip-hop

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

for Atlanta rappers in order to pay bills. Hunt met up-and-coming record producers and artists like Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri and TLC through his work on demos.

Career

Early career

Hunt wrote and co-produced the song "Hopeless" for singer Dionne Farris, formerly of Arrested Development, and joined her band on guitar and keyboards. "Hopeless" appeared on the soundtrack for the film '' Love Jones'' (1997). Hunt co-wrote several songs with Rahsaan Patterson on his album ''Love in Stereo'' (1999), and co-wrote with

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is a American-Canadian actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in '' Rugrats'' and Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and ...

, including the song "Mean Sleep", for her album ''

Street Faërie ''Street Faërie'' is the first full-length album recorded by Cree Summer. It was released in 1999 on the Work Group, a now-defunct imprint of Sony Music. The lyrics feature themes of racism, romantic liaisons, and spirituality into the lyrics of ...

'' (1999), produced by

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male R ...

. He also collaborated with Joi on the single "Missing You" (2002). Through Dionne Farris, Hunt met A&R person

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing ba ...

(who later went on to be a judge on Fox's ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

''). Jackson would become Hunt's manager in 2002.

Capitol records

Hunt recorded much of the songs from his debut album in 2000. Producer Dallas Austin took Hunt's recording to

, leading him to sign with the label in 2001. Hunt's first album, '' Van Hunt'', was released in February 2004. The album included the singles "Down Here in Hell (With You)", "Dust", and "Seconds of Pleasure", and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Hunt's second album, '' On the Jungle Floor'', was released in 2006. The album featured the single, "Character," a revisited "Mean Sleep", as a duet with Nikka Costa, and a cover of "No Sense of Crime" by

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

. The album was co-produced by

Bill Bottrell William A. Bottrell (born October 27, 1952) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has collaborated with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Electric Light Orchestra and Sheryl Crow. Biography Between 1967 and 1970, Bottrell attended Cre ...

. Hunt has toured and appeared with Mary J. Blige,

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

Boney James Boney James (born James Oppenheim September 1, 1961) is an American saxophonist (tenor, alto and soprano), songwriter, record producer and recording artist. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee (Best Pop Instrumental Album, 2001, 2004, 2014 a ...

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

, Seal, Angie Stone,

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

, The Brand New Heavies, the Dave Matthews Band, and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

. In 2006, Hunt appeared with Nikka Costa on the

Sam Moore Samuel David Moore (born October 12, 1935) is an American vocalist who was a member of the soul and R&B group, Sam & Dave, from 1961 to 1981. He is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame (for " Soul Man"), and the V ...

album, ''Overnight Sensational'', on the song "If I Had No Loot". Hunt was also featured on "Half the Fun", a track on the Count Bass D album, ''Act Your Waist Size'', released on Fat Beats Records. In 2007, Hunt won a

, along with

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

and

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

, for their cover of the Sly & the Family Stone song, "

", which appeared on the 2006 tribute album ''

Different Strokes by Different Folks ''Different Strokes by Different Folks'' is a Remix album, remix and Cover version, cover album by American funk, and Soul music, soul band Sly and the Family Stone. Description Released first as a Starbucks-exclusive in 2005, this version (reco ...

''. Hunt described winning the award as "one of the bigger pleasures I've had" to ''The Athens Blur Magazine'' in 2009.Hackett, Will (2009). "Hunting for Goodness". ''The Athens Blur Magazine'', issue 9, p. 23

Blue Note

Hunt released the 4 track digital EP, ''The Popular Machine'', on August 7, 2007. Hunt announced a full-length album, ''Popular'', to be released on

on January 15, 2008. Hunt moved from Atlanta to Los Angeles in 2007 while the album was nearing completion.Wood, Mikael (May 13, 2009).
Screwed By Blue Note, Van Hunt Still Rocks. And Funks. With Soul
. ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose par ...

''. Retrieved on November 20, 2021. Blue Note had taken over Hunt's recording contract after corporate restructuring at Blue Note and Capitol's parent company, EMI. In December 2007, Blue Note announced that they would not be releasing the album, and that Hunt and the label mutually agreed to part ways. Hunt wrote on his MySpace blog in January 2008, that he couldn't promise that ''Popular'' would ever be officially released. Blue Note owns the

master recording Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

s and opted not to sell it back to him at an affordable price. Hunt commented that he "didn't think that they had enough money" to promote the album properly. ''

'' called the album an "appealingly trippy fusion of funk grooves, punk guitar and soul vocals", and "a left-field stunner". Hunt told the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

alternative weekly newspaper ''

'' that he was "devastated" when the label decided not to release the album. In August 2017, ''Popular'' finally saw an official release on all online distributors 10 years after it was shelved.

Independent

As of June 2008, Hunt was recording a fourth album, which he planned to release himself and market using the Internet. Hunt has blogged about his new approach on his MySpace page. Hunt toured the U.S. in July and August 2008. Meanwhile, he released ''Use in Case of Emergency'', a compilation of

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es and

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

s recorded between 1997 and 2005, through his Web site in May 2009. In 2009, Hunt performed on the theme song for the film Hurricane Season, entitled "Be on Our Way." Hunt has also been working on autobiographical book of short stories titled ''Tales of Friction''. In July 2009, Hunt told ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' that he plans to release one more album and tour once more, but does not know what his plans are after that. Hunt performed at the

National Black Arts Festival The National Black Arts Festival was founded in 1987 after the Fulton County Arts Council (in Atlanta, Georgia) commissioned a study to explore the feasibility of creating a festival dedicated to celebrating the work of artists of African descen ...

's tribute to

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

Atlanta Symphony Hall Atlanta Symphony Hall is the home venue of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It is located within the Woodruff Arts Center at 1280 Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The venue has a total capacity of 1,762 seats on three levels: 1,074 in t ...

on July 16, 2010.

Godless Hotspot and What Were You Hoping For?

On June 14, 2011, Van Hunt took to his Twitter to announce the release of his first song in 3 years. The song "June" was released on June 15 at midnight via Mike Ragogna of The Huffington Post along with the announcement of the title of his forthcoming album (''What were you hoping for''?) and its release date. A subsequent longer article about the song "June" and the new album and Van's new approach would appear later that same day on the Music remedy website. This article would not only talk about the joint venture-between Hunt's own label Godless-hotspot and Thirty-Tigers. It also goes on to say that "June" is the first of a series of free songs that will be released from various sites up until the release of the new album. The next will be "eyes Like Pearls" the first official single from the album that is set to be released to radio sometime in July

The Fun Rises, the Fun Sets

Van Hunt released updates of work on his upcoming album via PledgeMusic during the course of 2014. In March 2015, he announced the title of his album as ''The Fun Rises, the Fun Sets'', due for release on May 5, 2015. He previewed the release of the new album with the new single "Vega (Stripes On)", which was available for release via iTunes and Amazon and followed this up with another single, "Old Hat". Both tracks had official videos accompany their releases. The album charted at #31 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

Influences

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoc ...

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

* The Ohio Players *

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

Personal life

He has been in a relationship with actress

Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry (; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Mi ...

since April 2020.

Discography

Albums

*'' Van Hunt'' (2004), Capitol *'' On the Jungle Floor'' (2006), Capitol *'' What Were You Hoping For?'' (2011) – Godless Hotspot/Thirty Tigers *''The Fun Rises, the Fun Sets'' (2015) – Godless Hotspot/Thirty Tigers *''Popular'' (2017), Blue Note

Compilations

*''Use in Case of Emergency'' (2009), self-released – collection of outtakes

EPs

*''Acoustic E.P.'' (2004), Capitol – digital EP *''Napster Sessions'' (2004), Capitol – digital EP *''Connect Set'' (2006), Capitol – digital EP *''The Popular Machine'' (2007), Blue Note – digital EP *''The Lamplighter Series'' (2009), Blue Note – digital EP

Singles

*"Down Here in Hell (With You)" (2004), Capitol *"Dust" (2004), Capitol *"Seconds of Pleasure" (2004), Capitol *"Character" (2006), Capitol *"Being A Girl" (2006), Capitol *"Eyes Like Pearls" (2011), Godless Hotspot/Thirty Tigers *"Vega (Stripes On)" (2015), Godless Hotspot/Thirty Tigers *"Old Hat" (2015), Godless Hotspot/Thirty Tigers *"Headroom" (2015), Godless Hotspot/Thirty Tigers

Awards and nominations

* 2005

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for "Dust." * 2006

win for Best R&B Performance by a Duo Or Group With Vocals for "

References

External links

* * *Hoard, Christian (May 5, 2004).
Van Hunt Gives Up the Funk
''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''. Retrieved on April 29, 2007.
Van Hunt Laid Bare
. March 8, 2005. the-raft.com. Retrieved on December 7, 2007.

. March 2004. whudat.com. Retrieved on December 8, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Van 1970 births 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians African-American songwriters American funk musicians American multi-instrumentalists American neo soul singers American soul musicians Capitol Records artists Grammy Award winners Record producers from Georgia (U.S. state) Record producers from Ohio Living people Morehouse College alumni Musicians from Atlanta Musicians from Dayton, Ohio