Van Hunt

A fresh-faced R&B singer who takes his cues from legends like Curtis Mayfield and Stevie Wonder, Van Hunt hits us with a debut album sure to win fans from all age groups. A refreshing change from the overproduced, super-sexualized jams so prevalent on the radio today; check out the singles "Seconds Of Pleasure" and "Dust."

Like many of his r&b contemporaries, twenty-six-year-old singer-songwriter-producer Van
Hunt models his vocal style on Prince, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. Unlike his neosoul
brethren, he wraps his seamlessly quilted voice around wry, off-kilter lyrics; his skewed
views on love and life are wholly his. Against a musical canvas that evokes influences
ranging from the Beatles to Muddy Waters to Sly Stone, Hunt sings droll odes to t... More >

"I love it when we make mistakes/Because once again it gives me a reason to complain," this not very Southern-fried ATL r&b singer-songwriter-guitarist begins one song. After all, he's no love man: "Words without hate/Would leave me nothing left to say." In short, although Hunt's heaven-and-hell split may give his falsetto a devilish cast, it isn't just a fancy excuse for dogging around. It helps him think. In "Seconds of Pleasure," for instance, he finds a dozen meanings of life without mentioning sex once--even if an orgasm gave him the idea. (Grade - B+)