Frogtoon Music

Eyes Like Pearls by Van Hunt

Artist Biography For Van Hunt

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. 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" 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 Drums At Age 7 And Saxophone At The Age Of 8 Later Adding Bass And Keyboards. 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. In Atlanta He Started Producing A Few Hip-Hop 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 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 Including The Song "Mean Sleep" For Her Album Street Faërie 1999 Produced By Lenny Kravitz. He Also Collaborated With 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'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 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 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" 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. 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. Hunt Moved From Atlanta To Los Angeles In 2007 While The Album Was Nearing Completion. 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 Recordings 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. 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 That He Was "devastated" When The Label Decided Not To Release The Album. Independent
As Of June 2008 Hunt Was Recording A Fourth Album Which He Plans 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. He Released Use In Case Of Emergency A Compilation Of Demos Remixes And B-Sides 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. In July 2009 Hunt Told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution That He Plans To Release One More Album And Tour Once More But Doesn't Know What His Plans Are After That. Hunt Performed At The National Black Arts Festival's Tribute To Curtis Mayfield At Atlanta Symphony Hall On July 16 2010. Influences David Bowie
Serge Gainsbourg
The Isley Brothers
Curtis Mayfield
Thelonious Monk
The Ohio Players
Iggy Pop
Prince
Richard Pryor
Sly Stone
Neil Young Discography Albums
Van Hunt 2004 Capitol
On The Jungle Floor 2006 Capitol
Popular 2008 - Unreleased Studio Album 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 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 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"

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