vashti1999
03-19-2006, 05:24 PM
If you're young, gifted and black, you'd better rap, sing simple R&B or at least confine yourself to a single genre.
Musician Van Hunt doesn't do any of those things. And that has made his career, by his own assessment, "a tough sell. On radio, it's an uphill battle that's almost impossible to climb," he says.
Yet, in 2004, Van Hunt's self-titled debut did manage to garner a Grammy bid - if in the ill-defined category "Best Urban/Alternative Performance." Hunt also became one of the most critically admired new artists of that year and sold a decent 150,000 copies of his debut, according to SoundScan.
Now, the singer is set to release his second CD, the terrific "On the Jungle Floor" (in stores April 4). This time he's hoping that developing technology will spread the word about his work to more than just tastemakers and the cognoscenti. "These days, more people can listen to me online somewhere - on satellite radio or on Web sites," he explains. "It's not like you have to get on the radio or else."
Of course, a periodic string of black artists have managed to buck stereotypes and enjoy brilliant careers - among them Prince, Curtis Mayfield, Sly Stone, LaBelle and the Isley Brothers - even if most of those stars broke through between 20 and 30 years ago.
With his mix of rock, soul, funk and pop, Hunt has most often been called "the new Prince," a comparison he describes as "lovely."
Yet several tracks from "On the Jungle Floor" take clearer influence from the Isley Brothers' smooth mix of hard-rock guitar and soul vocals. Hunt's connection to the Isleys' music makes sense: The older band hailed from Cincinnati, sister town to Hunt's birthplace of Dayton. In fact, southern Ohio holds an important place in the history of funk, having produced Bootsy Collins, Slave, Zapp and, of course, the Ohio Players.
Hunt has a theory for the area's soul bounty. "There's nothing to do there," he says. "You could get into sports, or get lucky and go off to school, or get a job in the factories - at least when there were factories there. Or you can play music. It was born out of that."
As a kid, Hunt found himself influenced by all kinds of music. From his mom, he heard mainstream pop artists like James Taylor. From his dad, he learned jazz. The latter greatly affected the tunesmanship on Hunt's latest CD.
"Two of the strongest senses of simple melody in jazz come from Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington," he explains. "I was always able to write a song in their quirky, jump piano style."
Hunt also considers himself a significant hip-hop fan - if only of the brand produced between 1977 and 1994. "After that," he says, "it became just a product on a shelf. You grab one, and they put another out there that looks just like it."
Ironically, Hunt says his taste and musicianship expanded greatly through hanging out with hip-hop deejays.
"They're some of the best connoisseurs of music," he explains. "They listen to everything" to find samples.
Since the guys he hung around with all rapped or deejayed - and since he wasn't interested in doing either - Hunt wound up developing his skill on a host of instruments. On both his albums, Hunt plays many of the guitar, bass, drum and keyboard parts himself.
Hunt's career began to develop after he moved to Atlanta to attend school at Morehouse College. There, he started writing for alterna-soul artists like Joi and Raphael Saadiq. Soon, he also developed a relationship with Randy Jackson (yes, the guy from "American Idol"). At that time, Jackson served as an A&R man at Columbia Records. Hunt wrote songs for a briefly famous artist on the label, Dionne Farris. Later, Jackson became Hunt's manager, a role he retains to this day.
The new CD, overseen by Bill Bottrell, features an even more sophisticated and open-minded approach than Hunt's debut. There are hard-rock tracks, soul forays and even a cover of Iggy Pop's obscure "No Sense of Crime."
Hunt's lyrics also stand out. Many address the pantomimes and illusions of relationships, laced with a literate quality. Hunt beleives African-American stars often feel inhibited about writing this way. "If you're black, people expect you to talk in a certain kind of way," Hunt explains. "But I'm an educated person, and I put that in my writing. There was a time, during the Harlem Renaissance, when seeing educated black musicians was a popular thing to do."
While Hunt acknowledges that various factors have impeded that progress in the time since, he feels things are starting to turn around. "The underground is actually starting to bubble over," he asserts. "New ideas, like with any revolution, just take time."
Originally published on March 19, 2006 - Jim Farber, New York Daily News
Musician Van Hunt doesn't do any of those things. And that has made his career, by his own assessment, "a tough sell. On radio, it's an uphill battle that's almost impossible to climb," he says.
Yet, in 2004, Van Hunt's self-titled debut did manage to garner a Grammy bid - if in the ill-defined category "Best Urban/Alternative Performance." Hunt also became one of the most critically admired new artists of that year and sold a decent 150,000 copies of his debut, according to SoundScan.
Now, the singer is set to release his second CD, the terrific "On the Jungle Floor" (in stores April 4). This time he's hoping that developing technology will spread the word about his work to more than just tastemakers and the cognoscenti. "These days, more people can listen to me online somewhere - on satellite radio or on Web sites," he explains. "It's not like you have to get on the radio or else."
Of course, a periodic string of black artists have managed to buck stereotypes and enjoy brilliant careers - among them Prince, Curtis Mayfield, Sly Stone, LaBelle and the Isley Brothers - even if most of those stars broke through between 20 and 30 years ago.
With his mix of rock, soul, funk and pop, Hunt has most often been called "the new Prince," a comparison he describes as "lovely."
Yet several tracks from "On the Jungle Floor" take clearer influence from the Isley Brothers' smooth mix of hard-rock guitar and soul vocals. Hunt's connection to the Isleys' music makes sense: The older band hailed from Cincinnati, sister town to Hunt's birthplace of Dayton. In fact, southern Ohio holds an important place in the history of funk, having produced Bootsy Collins, Slave, Zapp and, of course, the Ohio Players.
Hunt has a theory for the area's soul bounty. "There's nothing to do there," he says. "You could get into sports, or get lucky and go off to school, or get a job in the factories - at least when there were factories there. Or you can play music. It was born out of that."
As a kid, Hunt found himself influenced by all kinds of music. From his mom, he heard mainstream pop artists like James Taylor. From his dad, he learned jazz. The latter greatly affected the tunesmanship on Hunt's latest CD.
"Two of the strongest senses of simple melody in jazz come from Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington," he explains. "I was always able to write a song in their quirky, jump piano style."
Hunt also considers himself a significant hip-hop fan - if only of the brand produced between 1977 and 1994. "After that," he says, "it became just a product on a shelf. You grab one, and they put another out there that looks just like it."
Ironically, Hunt says his taste and musicianship expanded greatly through hanging out with hip-hop deejays.
"They're some of the best connoisseurs of music," he explains. "They listen to everything" to find samples.
Since the guys he hung around with all rapped or deejayed - and since he wasn't interested in doing either - Hunt wound up developing his skill on a host of instruments. On both his albums, Hunt plays many of the guitar, bass, drum and keyboard parts himself.
Hunt's career began to develop after he moved to Atlanta to attend school at Morehouse College. There, he started writing for alterna-soul artists like Joi and Raphael Saadiq. Soon, he also developed a relationship with Randy Jackson (yes, the guy from "American Idol"). At that time, Jackson served as an A&R man at Columbia Records. Hunt wrote songs for a briefly famous artist on the label, Dionne Farris. Later, Jackson became Hunt's manager, a role he retains to this day.
The new CD, overseen by Bill Bottrell, features an even more sophisticated and open-minded approach than Hunt's debut. There are hard-rock tracks, soul forays and even a cover of Iggy Pop's obscure "No Sense of Crime."
Hunt's lyrics also stand out. Many address the pantomimes and illusions of relationships, laced with a literate quality. Hunt beleives African-American stars often feel inhibited about writing this way. "If you're black, people expect you to talk in a certain kind of way," Hunt explains. "But I'm an educated person, and I put that in my writing. There was a time, during the Harlem Renaissance, when seeing educated black musicians was a popular thing to do."
While Hunt acknowledges that various factors have impeded that progress in the time since, he feels things are starting to turn around. "The underground is actually starting to bubble over," he asserts. "New ideas, like with any revolution, just take time."
Originally published on March 19, 2006 - Jim Farber, New York Daily News