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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = Van Hunt| image =| caption =| image_size = | background = solo_singer| birth_name =| alias =| birth_date = Birth date and age|1970|3|8|birth_place = Dayton, Ohio|Dayton , Ohio , United States|USA | death_date =| origin = Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta , Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia , United States|USA | instrument = Singing|vocals , guitar , bass guitar|bass , musical keyboard|keyboards , Drum kit|drums saxophone| genre = rhythm and blues|R& B , neo soul , funk , Rock music|rock | occupation = Singer , songwriter , musician , record producer|producer | years_active = 1997 in music|1997 & ndash;present| label = Capitol Records|Capitol (2001-2006) Blue Note Records|Blue Note (2007) Godless Hotspot/Thirty Tigers (2011-present)| associated_acts =| website = http://www.vanhunt.com/ www.vanhunt.com| notable_instruments = Van Hunt (born March 8, 1970) is an United States|American singer , songwriter , multi-instrumentalist and record producer . He released his debut album, Van Hunt (album)|Van Hunt , in 2004, and a follow-up, On the Jungle Floor , in 2006, both on Capitol Records . He won the Grammy Award for Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for appearing on the tribute version of the Sly & the Family Stone song, " Family Affair (Sly & the Family Stone song)|Family Affair ", in 2007. He transitioned to Blue Note Records where his 2008 album, Popular , was shelved and never released. He self-released the compilation album Use In Case of Emergency in 2009.
Early life
Hunt was born in Dayton, Ohio and raised by his single mother. His father, Van Hunt, Sr., was a factory worker and part-time painter, who was a friend of Ohio Players drummer Jimmy "Diamond" Williams. Hunt took up the drum s at age 7, and saxophone at the age of 8, later adding bass guitar|bass and Keyboard instrument|keyboards .Foster, Saptosa (September 30, 2004). " http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content? oid=oid%3A16911 Good Van Hunting ". Creative Loafing Atlanta . 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 Texas for a short time before relocating to Atlanta, Georgia in 1996 to attend Morehouse College , where he studied English, but soon dropped out.Suggs, Kimberly. " http://www.juicymagazine.us/entertainment/index.php? id=54 Unleashed: On the Floor with Van Hunt". Juicy Magazine . Retrieved on December 7, 2007. In Atlanta, he started producing a few hip-hop demo (music)|demos for Atlanta rappers in order to pay bills. Hunt met up-and-coming record producers and artists like Dallas Austin , Jermaine Dupri and TLC (band)|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 (hip hop group)|Arrested Development , and joined her band on guitar and keyboards. "Hopeless" appeared on the soundtrack for the film Love Jones (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 , including the song "Mean Sleep", for her album Street Faërie (1999), produced by Lenny Kravitz . He also collaborated with Joi (singer)|Joi on the single "Missing You" (2002). Through Dionne Farris, Hunt met A& R person Randy Jackson (who later went on to be a judge on Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox's American Idol ). Jackson would become Hunt's manager in 2002.
Capitol Records
Hunt recorded much of the material from his debut album in 2000. Producer Dallas Austin took Hunt's recording to Capitol Records , leading him to sign with the label in 2001. Hunt's first album, Van Hunt (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 album was co-produced by Bill Bottrell . Hunt has toured and appeared with Mary J. Blige , Alicia Keys , Boney James , The Roots , Seal (musician)|Seal , Angie Stone , Coldplay , The Brand New Heavies , the Dave Matthews Band , and Kanye West .
In 2006, Hunt appeared with Nikka Costa on the Sam Moore 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 Grammy Award for Best R& B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals , along with John Legend and Joss Stone , for their cover of the Sly & the Family Stone song, " Family Affair (Sly & the Family Stone song)|Family Affair ", which appeared on the 2006 tribute album Different Strokes by Different Folks . 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 Blue Note Records on January 15, 2008.Concepcion, Mariel (July 19, 2007). " http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp? vnu_content_id=1003614267 Van Hunt Feeling 'Popular' On Blue Note". Billboard (magazine)|Billboard . Retrieved on July 21, 2007. Hunt moved from Atlanta to Los Angeles in 2007 while the album was nearing completion.Wood, Mikael (May 13, 2009). " http://www.laweekly.com/2009-05-14/music/in-the-hunt/ Screwed By Blue Note, Van Hunt Still Rocks. And Funks. With Soul". LA Weekly . Retrieved on May 15, 2009. 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.Goldmeier, Jeremy (December 4, 2007). " http://www.pastemagazine.com/action/article/5998/news/music/van_hunt_and_emi_split_new_album_without_a_label Van Hunt and EMI Split, New Album Without A Label". Paste Magazine . Retrieved on December 7, 2007. Hunt wrote on his MySpace blog in January 2008, that he couldn't promise that Popular would ever be officially released.Hunt, Van (January 15, 2008). "Popular(ity) Contest". Myspace . Retrieved on January 22, 2008. Blue Note owns the master recording 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.Williams, DeMarco (March 19, 2008)." http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/van_hunt_watch_for_the_hook/Content? oid=432387 Van Hunt: Watch for the hook". Creative Loafing Atlanta . Retrieved on March 19, 2008. LA Weekly called the album an "appealingly trippy fusion of funk grooves, punk guitar and soul vocals", and "a left-field stunner". Hunt told the Atlanta alternative weekly newspaper Creative Loafing (Atlanta)|Creative Loafing that he was "devastated" when the label decided not to release the album.Williams, DeMarco (June 29, 2009). " http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/van_hunt_takes_the_emergency_exit_after_blue_note_s_blowjob/Content? oid=891586 Van Hunt takes the Emergency exit after Blue Note's blowjob". Creative Loafing Atlanta . Retrieved on July 6, 2009.
Independent
As of June 2008, Hunt was recording a fourth album,Wikane, Christian John (June 30, 2008). " http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/57934/dispatches-from-the-battlefield-an-interview-with-van-hunt/ Dispatches From the Battlefield: An Interview With Van Hunt". Pop Matters . Retrieved on June 30, 2008. which he plans to release himself and marketing|market using the Internet . Hunt has blog ged about his new approach on his MySpace page.Mays, Mark (July 11, 2008). " http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20080711/TUNEIN04/80710086/1005/ENTERTAINMENT Van Hunt takes his eclectic soul career into his own hands". The Tennessean . Retrieved on July 11, 2008. Hunt toured the U.S. in July and August 2008. He released Use In Case Of Emergency , a compilation of demo (music)|demos , remix es and B-side s recorded between 1997 and 2005, through his Web site in May 2009. Hunt has also been working on autobiographical book of short stories titled Tales of Friction .Eldredge, Richard L. (July 3, 2009). " http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/07/03/peachbuzz0703.html Peach Buzz". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved on July 6, 2006. In July 2009, Hunt told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he plans to release one more album and tour once more, but does not know what his plans are after that.Rhone, Nedra (July 3, 2009). " http://www.ajc.com/services/content/2009/07/03/vanhunt0703.html Singer goes own way". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved on July 6, 2006. Hunt performed at the National Black Arts Festival 's tribute to Curtis Mayfield at Atlanta Symphony Hall on July 16, 2010.Carmichael, Rodney (July 16, 2010). " http://clatl.com/atlanta/curtis-mayfield-still-making-his-impression-felt/Content? oid=1720299 Curtis Mayfield, still making his impression felt". Creative Loafing Atlanta . Retrieved on July 18, 2010. On June 15, 2011, Hunt released the song "June", from his third studio album What Were You Hoping For? . The album was released on September 27, 2011.cite web|url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/van-hunts-free-june-downl_b_877200.html |title=Mike Ragogna: Van Hunt's Free "June" Download, Plus Chatting with Steve Cropper and Gomez's Tom Gray |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2012-04-10
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 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.Ragogna, Mike (June 15, 2011). " http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/van-hunts-free-june-downl_b_877200.html'. huffington Post . retrieved June 15, 2011. 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 JulyLeeuwis, Jeremy (June 15, 2011). " http://musicremedy.com/v/van-hunt/album/celebrates-new-album-by-giving-away-songs-11592.html / Van hunt Celebrates new Album by Giving Away New Songs". Music Remedy . retrieved June 15, 2011
Van Hunt (album)|Van Hunt (2004), Capitol Records|Capitol
On the Jungle Floor (2006), Capitol Records|Capitol
Popular (2008), Blue Note (unreleased)
What Were You Hoping For? (2011) - Godless Hotspot/Thirty Tigers
Compilations
Use In Case of Emergency (2009), self-released - collection of outtakes
EPs
Acoustic E.P. (2004), Capitol - digital Extended play|EP
Napster Sessions (2004), Capitol - digital EP
Connect Set (2006), Capitol - digital EP
The Popular Machine (2007), Blue Note Records|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
Awards and nominations
2005 Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for "Dust."
2006 Grammy Award win for Best R& B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for " Family Affair (Sly & the Family Stone song)|Family Affair "
References
Reflist
Hoard, Christian (May 5, 2004). " http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanhunt/articles/story/6055996/van_hunt_gives_up_the_funk Van Hunt Gives Up the Funk" Rolling Stone . Retrieved on April 29, 2007.
" http://the-raft.com/feature181 Van Hunt Laid Bare". March 8, 2005. the-raft.com. Retrieved on December 7, 2007.
" http://www.whudat.com/interview/pages/vanhunt.html Van Hunt - Interview". March 2004. whudat.com. Retrieved on December 8, 2007.
External links
Official website| http://www.vanhunt.com/
Myspace|vanhunt
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p393483
Persondata | NAME =Hunt, Van | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =March 8, 1970 | PLACE OF BIRTH =Dayton, OH | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Van Category:African American musicians Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American songwriters Category:American soul musicians Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Neo soul singers Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from Dayton, Ohio Category:Living people Category:1970 births Category:Article Feedback 5
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