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"
The Night Is Young
Van Hunt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And we're waitin' for the bell to end the afternoon and usher in the evening, yeah...
I can hear them singin'... (The night is young, we've only just begun, yeah...)
I can hear them singing... (Grab a friend, jump on in, run from the end till it comes, yeah...)
The mirror has changed my shape - tomorrow used to be so kind and so far away, yeah;
Now it's clear when I touch my face, the unmistakable feel of slippin' away, yeah...
I can hear them singin'... (The night is young, we've only just begun, yeah...)
I can hear them singing... (Grab a friend, jump on in, run from the end till it comes, yeah...)
My past is bigger and brighter than my future,
But the struggle is all the same...
I fight to mean somethin' in this life I live;
The end comes, but the work is undone...
Don't they know I'm still here,
Pushin' against the atmosphere?
The best of things haven't been shared yet;
It just can't be over yet... (over yet...)
Can they hear me screamin'? (The night is young, we've only just begun, yeah...)
Can they hear me screamin'? (Grab a friend, jump on in, run from the end till it comes, yeah...)
Hear me screamin'...
Riding away into the sun,
Making way for the new horizon...
Riding away into the sun,
Making way for the new horizon...
In Van Hunt's song The Night Is Young, the lyrics speak to the anxieties and desires of the younger generation. The singer hears "the calamity of young ideas gathering around the edge of [their] years" and is waiting for the bell to signal the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another. The chorus repeats the line "the night is young, we've only just begun", emphasizing the optimism and hopefulness that comes with new beginnings. The second verse speaks to the passing of time and the singer's realization that they are getting older, as symbolized by "the unmistakable feel of slipping away".
The final verse touches on the universal struggle to find meaning and purpose in life, despite the inevitability of the end. The singer feels as though they still have so much to give and wants to share the best of themselves with the world, but worries that it might be too late. The repetition of "can they hear me screaming?" highlights this fear of being unheard or overlooked. Finally, the song ends on a more positive note, with the image of "riding away into the sun, making way for the new horizon". This suggests that, even in the face of uncertainty and doubt, there is still a way forward towards new opportunities and experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear the calamity of young ideas gatherin' around the edge of my years, yeah,
I can hear the noise of new and fresh ideas around me, while I am getting older.
And we're waitin' for the bell to end the afternoon and usher in the evening, yeah...
We are waiting for the day to end and night to start.
I can hear them singin'... (The night is young, we've only just begun, yeah...)
I can hear people saying that the night is still young, and there is a lot to do.
I can hear them singing... (Grab a friend, jump on in, run from the end till it comes, yeah...)
I can hear people saying to enjoy and have fun while we still can.
The mirror has changed my shape - tomorrow used to be so kind and so far away, yeah;
I observe changes in myself and realize that time is passing too quickly.
Now it's clear when I touch my face, the unmistakable feel of slippin' away, yeah...
Now I feel time slipping away, and I am becoming increasingly aware of this.
My past is bigger and brighter than my future,
I feel my past memories are more significant and joyful when compared to my future prospects.
But the struggle is all the same...
Despite everything I am going through, the continuous struggle is a constant factor.
I fight to mean somethin' in this life I live;
I strive every day to make a difference and leave my mark in this world.
The end comes, but the work is undone...
Even though the end is inevitable, I still have a lot of things to do.
Don't they know I'm still here,
Do people not realize that I am still present and alive?
Pushin' against the atmosphere?
Am I trying to fight against impossible odds?
The best of things haven't been shared yet;
There are still more good things that I haven’t experienced or shared yet.
It just can't be over yet... (over yet...)
I refuse to accept that everything is finished, and there is nothing left for me to do.
Can they hear me screamin'? (The night is young, we've only just begun, yeah...)
Do people hear me crying out that there is still a lot to do even though the night is running away?
Riding away into the sun,
I am moving away from my past towards my future.
Making way for the new horizon...
I am creating new opportunities for myself and stepping into the unknown future.
Contributed by Skyler C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@greatscott1175
2023. Still appreciating the greatness of this song and album. So many missed out on this. Wow
@kimmykimk1
love this song!!!
@LIAISONENT
The Artist’s Artist. Thank you for every syllable of this song.. “Yeah”
@harvey2609
big tune. big thanks.