Van Hunt Lands with Blue Note Records

In the mid-nineties, neo soul was all the rage in R&B music. Artists like D'angelo, Maxwell, and Erykah Badu were all over the charts and airwaves. With most of the artists that ruled that era out of the music business or missing in action, R&B music has suffered from a major drop off in quality. Fans are finding it difficult to discover quality R&B music today. That's why Van Hunt needs to be exposed to the masses.

Ironically, Van Hunt's musical career began to flourish during the neo soul era. Hunt's career began as a producer and writer. He wrote Dionne Ferris' 'Hopeless,' which appeared on the 'Love Jones' soundtrack in 1997. He also collaborated with Rashaan Patterson, Cree Summer and others. Van Hunt would eventually meet future American Idol judge, Randy Jackson and break in as a performer.

In 2004, Hunt released his self titled debut album on Capitol Records. The album was a mix of funk, rock, and soul. It was critically acclaimed and Alicia Keys called Hunt "the best new performer of the year." The album's singles included 'Dust,' 'Down Here In Hell (With You),' and 'Seconds of Pleasure.' The album generate a little bit of exposure for Hunt. 'Seconds of Pleasure' was featured in the movie 'Something New' and 'Dust' received a Grammy nomination for Best Urban/Alternative performance. Still, Hunt didn't attain the type of notoriety that his neo soul predecessors did.

His second album, 'On the Jungle Floor,' was released in 2006. It received less fanfare than his debut album, despite being brilliant. Hunt toured with industry heavyweights such as Kanye West, Coldplay, and Seal. However, the album wouldn't take off and he was dropped from Capitol Records. It is indicative of the sad state of music, when an artist like Van Hunt can't stay on a major label.

Hunt, however, landed on his feet. He recently signed with Blue Note Record and is currently preparing new music. He released his funky new single, 'The Lowest 1 of My Desires,' on his MySpace page. So far it has been played nearly 6,000 times. In one of his blogs he has indicated that Blue Not Records is a great home for him.