Van Hunt Bio :

 

Van Hunt, a Dayton, Ohio-born musician, made his way to Atlanta where he drew acclaim for his production efforts and crafty songwriting, featured on recordings by such diverse artists as Dionne Farris, Rahsaan Patterson, and Cree Summer as well as the platinum-selling soundtrack, Love Jones. His own self-titled debut album arrived in 2004, instantly establishing Hunt as a distinctive and original talent with its idiosyncratic melding of R&B, neo-soul, funk, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll. Hunt received a 2005 “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” Grammy nomination for his breakthrough hit single, “Dust” that was featured on his debut album.

 

 

On The Jungle Floor followed two years later, highlighted by the single, “Character,” as well as by a surprising cover of Iggy Pop & James Williamson’s Kill City classic, “No Sense Of Crime.”

 

n 2007, Hunt received a Grammy Award for “Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals,” honoring “Family Affair,” a collaboration with John Legend and Joss Stone found on the 2006 Sly & The Family Stone tribute album, Different Strokes For Different Folks.

 

Hunt’s third album, Popular, was slated for 2008 but remains officially unreleased. Nevertheless, the album has become an underground sensation, a classic lost album hailed by LA Weekly as “a left-field stunner” for its “trippy fusion of funk grooves, punk guitar and soul vocals.”

 

In 2011, Hunt released What Were You Hoping For?. Reaching both Billboard’s Top 50 R&B/Hiphop and Heat Seekers charts, the album also received rave reviews. Metacritic branded the record’s critical success as “universal acclaim”, for an album averaging a score of 90 among music critics. What Were You Hoping For? was listed among “The Best Albums of 2011” by The New York Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, The LA Times, The AV CLub and a league of other music publications.

 

A charismatic and engaging live performer, Hunt has also attracted critical praise touring both as headliner as well as alongside such diverse acts as Kanye West, The Roots, Coldplay, Mary J. Blige, and Dave Matthews Band.

 

Van Hunt’s fifth album is expected to be released at the beginning of 2015. Inspired by the music of The Delfonics, Parliament-Funkadelic, Pink Floyd, and Billie Holiday, Hunt has hinted that the album “chronicles love, loss, and nostalgia” through the sounds of “original funk and old soul.”