R&B multi-instrumentalist Van Hunt, born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, grew up surrounded by the pimp lifestyle of his father. A soundtrack of classic soul and contemporary R&B was his backdrop and Hunt immersed himself in the tones and moods of it all. A move from the Midwest to Atlanta in his early twenties allowed Hunt to hone his sound. He’d been playing guitar and writing songs since his teens, so naturally a career in music was on the horizon. Capitol inked him a deal in 2003 and his self-titled debut arrived in February 2004. Appearances on Soul Train, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, and NPR coincided with the release of Van Hunt’s double single “Dust” and “Seconds of Pleasure”; the album peaked within the Top 40 of Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The strong follow-up, On the Jungle Floor, was issued in 2006 and topped the Heatseekers chart but failed to leave much of an impression otherwise. Hunt then shifted to Blue Note; promotional copies of Popular, his first album for the label, were mailed out, but the release was ultimately shelved. Hunt subsequently assembled Use in Case of Emergency, consisting of material from his vault, and provided it as a free download for his followers. In 2011, through his own label, the Sony RED-distributed Godless Hotspot, Hunt issued the bold What Were You Hoping For?, his third proper officially released album. Some crowd-funding assistance facilitated The Fun Rises, the Fun Sets, his relatively subdued fourth album, released on Godless Hotspot 2015. ~ MacKenzie Wilson
