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"
Anything
Van Hunt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll do anything to get your attention
I'll do anything to get your attention
I'll do anything to get your attention
You don't come when I call
You act as if I don't, don't exist at all
I think there must be some, some trick to it
I'll do anything to get your attention
I'll do anything to get your attention
I'll do anything to get your attention
Anything to get your attention
Paint my face on your bedroom wall
I'll carve my name up and down the hall
There's just no way I can do without
Your love, baby, so don't tune me out
Anything to get your attention
I'll do anything to get your attention
I'll do anything to get your attention
Anything to get your attention
I know I should be patient
I can't just take no waiting
Ambition is raging through my body
My pride ain't worth saving
So, on every occasion
I'll be a fool for you, anything
Ooh, baby, baby, baby, baby, please
I'll do anything to get your attention
See, I'll do anything to get your attention
I'll do anything to get your attention
I'll do anything to get your attention
Everyday, I'll be dreaming of ways
To get your attention
I'll do anything
The lyrics of the song "Anything" by Van Hunt seem to reflect the desperation of a person who is trying to get the attention of someone they deeply desire. The repetition of the phrase "I'll do anything to get your attention" emphasizes the extent to which the singer is willing to go to win over the object of their affections. The opening lines speak to the longing and yearning of the singer, who is willing to do whatever it takes to get the attention of the person they desire. The second stanza suggests that the singer has tried several methods to get attention, but nothing has worked. The line "There's just no way I can do without your love, baby, so don't tune me out" suggests that the singer is deeply in love but is afraid of being rejected.
The chorus repeats the first lines of the song, but this time, it is reinforced with the mention of painting the singer's face on the bedroom wall and carving their name up and down the halls. These lines are a representation of the lengths to which the singer is willing to go to get attention. In the third stanza, the singer acknowledges that they know they should be patient but the intensity of their desire supersedes any sense of reason. The lines "My pride ain't worth saving, so on every occasion, I'll be a fool for you, anything" demonstrates how deeply the singer is in love, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to get the attention of the object of their affections.
Line by Line Meaning
Anything to get your attention
The singer is willing to go to any length to capture the attention of the person they desire.
I'll do anything to get your attention
The singer reiterates their commitment to doing whatever it takes to get noticed by the person they crave.
You don't come when I call
The singer feels ignored by the person they desire.
You act as if I don't, don't exist at all
The person the artist wants isn't showing them any acknowledgment or recognition.
I think there must be some, some trick to it
The artist is trying to figure out how to win the affection of the person they desire.
Some kinda, some kind of slick gimmick
The singer believes that there might be a clever, effective way to get the attention of the person they desire.
Paint my face on your bedroom wall
The singer is suggesting that the person they desire is so important to them that they would resort to extreme and desperate measures to be noticed.
I'll carve my name up and down the hall
The artist is willing to make bold declarations of their love and commitment to the person they crave.
There's just no way I can do without
The artist feels a deep emotional need for the person they desire.
Your love, baby, so don't tune me out
The artist is pleading with the person they desire to give them a chance to prove their worthiness of love and affection.
I know I should be patient
The singer understands that they should wait for things to happen naturally instead of forcing them, but they feel extremely drawn to the person they desire.
I can't just take no waiting
The artist finds it difficult to sit around and wait for the person they crave to notice them.
Ambition is raging through my body
The singer has a fierce, intense desire to capture the attention of the person they desire.
My pride ain't worth saving
The singer is willing to make themselves vulnerable and put their pride aside to win the affection of the person they crave.
So, on every occasion
The singer is pledging to try hard at every opportunity to win the love of the person they desire.
I'll be a fool for you, anything
The artist is ready to make a fool of themselves and do anything to catch the attention of the person they crave.
Ooh, baby, baby, baby, baby, please
The artist is begging and imploring the person they desire to give them a chance.
Everyday, I'll be dreaming of ways
The singer is obsessed with the person they desire and constantly thinking of ways to get their attention.
To get your attention
The singer's sole goal is to capture the attention of the person they crave.
I'll do anything
The artist repeats their promise to do anything to get noticed by the person they desire.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CURTIS WHITEHEAD, VAN HUNT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind