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"
Hot Stage Lights
Van Hunt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
they been hung up, poster-ized
Like dead heroes
She done traveled the globe
Leaving their hearts pulverized
From coast to coast
Invited me over for tea
Looking hot and murderous
I took a seat right by the door
With my hand on my gun
Determined to keep my clothes on
She kiss me on my neck
And I feel the fire
...Feel those cameras flashin'
...Feel them hot stage lights
I've been voted best
#1 desire
...the latest passion
It's clear
I'm man of the year
But I won't go near
Them hot stage lights
She's in tears
I'm man of the year
And I won't go near
Them hot stage lights
She can shoot through my window
But, I'm already gone
Cursed and criminal
And, she won't waste her breath
She'll send me a text on the phone
With her thoughts in prose
I don't lover her as much as I glamorize her
Like a centerfold
I dont want her as much as I want to own her
And, then let her go
Today her love, tomorrow the world
Wish I could stay
But, I'm looking for more
Maybe one day
At the end of the tour
I'll stop by-if I'm
Ready for the hot stage lights
The song "Hot Stage Lights" by Van Hunt speaks of a woman who travels the world, leaving a string of men whose hearts she has pulverized. The singer expresses his fear of her, even as he is drawn to her overtly sexual nature. He is aware of her power over men, as they have been hung up and posterized in her life. The singer is also aware that he is not the only man who feels this way about her. When she invites him over for tea, he sits by the door with his hand on his gun, determined to keep his clothes on.
The singer feels the fire when she kisses him on his neck, but he also feels the weight of the cameras flashing and the hot stage lights. He has been voted the #1 desire and man of the year, but he has no intention of going near the hot stage lights. The woman can shoot through his window, but he is already gone. He doesn't love her as much as he glamorizes her, and he wants to own her rather than have her. The singer hints that he might return to her at the end of the tour, but only if he is ready for the hot stage lights.
"Hot Stage Lights" is a song that captures the fear and desire that often accompany sexual attraction. The lyrics suggest that the woman in question is not just hot but also dangerous, making the singer's desire all the more thrilling and terrifying. The singer's desire to own her is also telling, suggesting that he seeks not just sexual gratification but also control over her. The song is an exploration of the complex power dynamics that often emerge in sexual relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
All the men in her life
they been hung up, poster-ized
Like dead heroes
Every man she has been with has become obsessed with her and put her on a pedestal, like a dead hero.
She done traveled the globe
Leaving their hearts pulverized
From coast to coast
She's traveled the world leaving behind a trail of heartbroken men all over the place.
Invited me over for tea
Looking hot and murderous
From head to toe
I took a seat right by the door
With my hand on my gun
Determined to keep my clothes on
She invited me over, looking both attractive and dangerous, and I was wary and cautious, sitting by the door with my hand on my gun, ready to leave if I had to.
She kiss me on my neck
And I feel the fire
...Feel those cameras flashin'
...Feel them hot stage lights
I've been voted best
#1 desire
...the latest passion
She kisses me on the neck and I feel a burning passion. I feel like I'm in the spotlight, being watched by cameras and under hot stage lights. I've been voted the number one desire, the latest obsession.
It's clear
I'm man of the year
But I won't go near
Them hot stage lights
She's in tears
I'm man of the year
And I won't go near
Them hot stage lights
Even though it's clear that I'm very successful, I won't let myself be consumed by the spotlight of the hot stage lights. She's upset with my decision, but I stick by it.
She can shoot through my window
But, I'm already gone
Cursed and criminal
And, she won't waste her breath
She'll send me a text on the phone
With her thoughts in prose
She may be able to shoot me through the window, but I'm already out of there. I feel like I'm cursed and always on the wrong side of the law. She won't even bother calling me, she'll just send a text with her thoughts in prose.
I don't lover her as much as I glamorize her
Like a centerfold
I dont want her as much as I want to own her
And, then let her go
I'm attracted to her mainly because of the way she looks and the image she portrays, like a centerfold. I don't really love her as a person, I just want to possess her briefly and then move on.
Today her love, tomorrow the world
Wish I could stay
But, I'm looking for more
Maybe one day
At the end of the tour
I'll stop by-if I'm
Ready for the hot stage lights
Today I have her love, but tomorrow I'm looking for much more than that. I wish I could stay with her, but I'm not satisfied. Maybe one day, at the end of my current venture, I'll return to her - only if I'm ready to take on the hot stage lights that come with it.
Contributed by Keira M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Sananda Maitreya's Apparition
Van Hunt is the Prince, Terence Trent Darby, Curtis Mayfield , Stevie Wonder , Sly Stone embodiment. The Universe had a Baby from all of those Great Genes..and the Baby came out to be Van Hunt. Isn't that just Wonderful ?...
VLEEVISION
That perfectly says it!!!
Donna
You absolutely nailed it!!! How does he do it tho?!?!! I hear some strong tones of Prince, Curtis Mayfield (Superfly), and all u mentioned. Just incredible!!!
Nikki W
Well put!
Donna
Damn... could you imagine a concert back in the day with Prince, Rick James, and Van Hunt?!?!! 🔥🔥🔥
KarmalBeauty
Them chords on that bridge is CHILLINGLY DOPE! One of my faves on the album! Crazy funky!
1funkyangel
My 1st time hearin' about him too ! Very underrated !
02drpyro
When an artist this talented goes this under appreciated then the music industry is dead to me
BlackAmericanLesbian Professional
I greatly enjoy this songs! I still today blast my Van Hunt cd album while drive my car. I am Black American living in the UK/Britain for 7 years now. Date Stamp: 25feb22
Jcunninghamdr
Are you ready for the hot stage lights?