At the end of the day, it's just words on a computer screen. It's his opinion and it's as valid and relevant as anybody else's in this thread.

The thing is that Prince always backed up his words with his music. Now i love Van hunt, as a matter fact my retail location back in the day was the only one that was pushing and selling his record, we did displays for the guy, played him, because we thought people should be hearing him rather than hearing usher or nelly. But when i spoke with someone at his label and someone that was part of his "streeet team" their goal was to get him on mtv/vh1/bet and the radio. So i know it may be cool to not "need" those things but at the end of the day, an artist, especially starting out, does need something from somewhere. I mean he was making videos...why? to get on tv. The remarks about prince are ok, i mean i have heard them from others about him and i have heard other artists talk about people they were compared too. Is prince a good songwriter? most of the time he can be, times he cant, but writing 10,000 songs im sure you are gonna miss and write crap at times, EVERYONE HAS, including artists Van Hunt speaks of. Prince is the true Gemini because at times he can be this "commercial" guy showing up at everything, but at the same time, be underground where you never know what he will do, an instrumental record, a rock record, rb record, that is the true sign of diversity and artistic creation. So im not offended by Van Hunts statement, all im saying is back it all up, you are only 2 albums and some eps into the music world, and as much respect i have for him, that is not even an artistic statement or close to it yet.

Rowdy said:

Very true, Prince on his first 4 records was not what you will call a "commerical" artist, and seriously through most of his career he hasnt. 1999 and Purple Rain exploded mainly because there was nothing like it anywhere out there, whether anyone can admit this or not, Prince did lay that groundwork for others to come, and by him FIGHTING his commercial appeal and challenging his audience he showed that you can create the mainstream not have the mainstream create you.

VoicesCarry said:

Michelle Branch was the best though. shutting the whole thing down and asking people to fuck off

Aww, hell!!! Prince already doesn't like us...now y'all have gone and offended Van Hunt!!!

I'm getting the hell off of this board before Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Fergie and Timbaland read what's been said about them on here and put hits out on us!!!
[Edited 1/13/08 15:30pm]

I agree with what Mr. Hunt is saying totally.
People on this site have always wanted to make prince
into some kind of god when in reality his music is
not that good, and if anyone has ever taken the time
to read his lyrics, they actually make no sense.
So why does everyone rush to compare other artist to him?
I especially agree with the part when Van Hunt says prince wanted
to be famous more so than a respected artist, I think that point
was proven.....especially in the 90's.

whateverrrrr.....for me this comes off as whining.

Believe me, its been hard for me to get into his music he has some hits and misses too.

This is a prince fan site. Why would he think people would be unbiased? What are they saying on his own fan site about him?

Shut up.....go blow some dust or something (calhoun that's for you!!)

Rhondab said:

I gotta agree with ya here Rhonda.

theAudience said:

Man, you know I've had your back on that issue for years!!!!! As a matter of fact this here thread is going to get tabloid-ish now that it's been put on the front page as "news" so I'm going back to my seclusion.



...now you gonna make me have to watch that movie tonight

artists directly responding 2 harsh opinions about them should be welcomed if we (the critic) put out harsh comments online

the things said about prince??...well...that's subject to opinion
...

As I previously stated..Im not a Van Hunt fan..but I also respect him for speaking his mind..critics will always exist..I think people here can recognise Talent when the see/hear it..
Thats why we have threads ranging from hip hop to instrumental jazz..to guitar soloist..MJ..Janet...Madonna...ect..There are a handful of Van Hunt fans here..and thats cool for them if they dig him..
I do believe that everyone has a right to express their opinons tho'..& I dont think everyone is so "BLINDED" by Prince that they are picking on Van in any kinda way.."some maybe" but definitely not the majority..

Hell, Look how many people Dog Larry Graham here..!?!?! or how many worship Prince but dont give a damn about Sly or Jimi !?!?!
Its a free forum..
some people know the deal..some dont..and some dont give a damn !

If I were Van I think I would have simply thanked my supporters...But he did things the way he felt they should be done..and Right on to him..Its his Right to defend himself & his Art !
[Edited 1/13/08 16:52pm]

Van Hunt, you are even more my hero now.http://prince.org/chat/code_help.html?cmd=emote_only&target=post#

Ok, I went to his blog and left a message.

I got a response from Van Hunt basically saying that he knows prince and knows those who have worked with prince and was speaking from that experience.

There was more but it was clear he wanted to clear up some things based on my perception of the blog he wrote.


so I guess I need to be nice now.

I remember that thread. I thought then that people, especially Prince fans, go wayyyy off the deep end with the hero worship to the extent that anyone else who has ever held a guitar or sung into a mike is not as good. I thought that it was supremely retarded to dismiss Van Hunt (who I think is a great talent) or any other musician who is able to put his music out there, and good music at that. It's really irritating when said people are about as musically talented as a brick. I'm not a musician, but I have the utmost respect for anyone that can wade through the bullshit of trying to get your craft heard, and succeeding at it.

I know enough to see that Van Hunt is an undeniable talent, and I think he's very talented. But to compare him to Prince is just stupid. If this were the 80's and Ready For The World had just hit the scene, you could make a case for someone trying to actually ride Prince's coattails and make the comparison. But, again VH and Prince....I've never even contemplated comparing the two.

Anyway, I read his post and definitely felt his pain, reading what Prince.org can produce over the years...

Rhondab said:

I think he is reacting more to maybe being compared to an artist that he feels he isnt anything like, as opposed to really just taking shots at Prince which im sure isnt is intention. I think its important to remember that Prince was really coming from a similar place when he began, if times were different Prince would have been dumped after his first cd in this climate today. I dont think Prince set out to be a "star", i think he set out to do something different and lay the ground work for years to come. Of course every dude that sings a little high is going to be compared to Prince and every black dude that picks up a guitar will also be compared to prince just like Prince was compared to Jimi and yet Prince plays NOTHING like Jimi, two totally different players and feels. Prince made the mainstream of the day it didnt make him, big difference.

bsk3601 said:

Since you gave the definitive Sunday Sermon...



...make it a Double Feature.



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

After all he wrote I was guessing he knew what he was talking about in regards to P. Luckily I can enjoy him for what he is and not think about Prince when I'm jamming to Hot Stage Lights.

VH said:

- Well...despite the bitter way of saying it, he has a point. I mean, who are we to judge Prince´s way of making music, but sometimes I think Prince is so focused on being a star or relevant(modern, hit maker, whatever) that he doesnt seem to use all his great talent into creating great ART.

When u listen to ´3121´ or ´Planet Earth´ it seems that he is not challenging himself much.Even the lyrics are worse than 20 years ago, which is strange, because he was supposed to be more mature at 50.
Well, let´s wait for the next albums...

About Van Hunt, I think it´s a shame that P fans keep dissing him at the forums, with all those comparisons.

Van Hunt is right in pretty much everything he writes on this topic.People here can be a bunch of vindictive a -holes that hide behind their screen and would never say what they say to peoples faces (I would..and have) Prince is NOT the greatest songwriter... but I still dig what he does. Or what he used to do, and what he still CAN do to be more precise. He's a great pop (meaning popular) music player. He's really really really good. And an amazing entertainer to boot, but their are people from an artistry and talent level that beat his ass musically. But so what? I still like him, and so do lots of people. There is ALWAYS someone better than you at what you do.
One day we'll all hear this about our artistic heroes...and possibly ourselves... (I quote my 8 year old son) "Dad, Who *is* Elvis Presley?"

Damn...like others have said, I don't agree with everything Van said...But some of the Prince fans here are just plain disrespectful....

Nothinbutjoy said:

ditto Rhondab

Dance said:

Translation: Is DAngelno still on the back of a milk carton?

It is pretty much impossible to resist the urge to know what people are saying about you all the time.
Nobody is above that. I don't think VanHunt wants people to care about what he said. I think he was just venting.

Rhondab said:

Riiight.



I bet they jam ALL THE TIME. They probably go shopping together and then go home and watch movies, talk about boys, and compare titties.

Miss Hunt needs to spend less time on myspace and more time jamming, recording, and doing gigs. Then maybe SHE'd have something decent to offer.

Rhondab said:

No you didn't? Damn it! Now I've got to stick around here to watch your back! Shit!!!!!
[Edited 1/13/08 19:38pm]

I really don't hear Prince when I listen to Van Hunt. If anything Sly fans should be the ones complaining.
I have enormous respect for Van Hunt and what he has accomplished in this day and age.
I'm 100% sure that if Prince can out in the 90s he would be in the same position as Van Hunt or even worse.
The funny thing is that Prince has taken shit the guys like Sly Stone, The Ohio Players and even Rick James.
But most of his fan's heads are so stuck up his ass that they worship him like some kind of god.
Prince is easily one of the biggest asshole in the music industry. How many artists treat their fans this way? And their response "He hates us but we love him for it". It's pathetic.

Guess what, I been listening to Popular all week and I really wanna pay Van Hunt for that shit. And my copy of Planet Earth well the CD store refused to buy it back cause they have too many copies.

Dance said:

It must be difficult thinking up all the clever responses you've posted on this thread.

Just because you don't like his music doesn't mean he sucks. I'm going to bet you haven't really listened to much of Van's stuff because if you did, you'd know a lot goes into the stuff he makes. Oh, and he WAS in consideration to be on tour WITH Prince while he was on the road behind "On THe Jungle Floor."

Had Van started out in the 80's like Prince did, I bet he'd be a superstar today, but the industry is very different today than it was back then. I bet if Van was doing the same hip hop influenced shit people like Usher does, a ton of folks on this site would be all over his jock.

PEople say that there are no real artists out there these days, but when one comes along, one that you have to listen to multiple times to understand, people complain. I don't get some of you folks on here.

Vanny, I love your music and next time you're in town, I'll be checking you out...but here:


The funny thing about his response is it seems, he thinks he's figured out to hurt a Prince "fan".
That was his target. Unfortunately he's been sucked into the trap and has become just like them (The ones that shoot every non-Prince thing down). It will be interesting to see what happens when he's at some event and looks over and sees Prince...and then it occurs to him that he is a fan, and that it wasn't personal....but it's too late...

Of course, this could all be a publicity thing, too.

Thats what yall bitches get

Well whatever one thinks of Van Hunt as a person and i really don't know enough about him to make a judgement, and why should i, his music is fantastic. His first two albums have been better than anything Prince has released in last decade. His self titled album and On The Jungle Floor are albums i go back to time and time again and they're both so different to eachother. I can't wait to hear Popular wondering what direction he's going to go in next. Whereas Prince im wondering how his next album is going to sound production wise. Van Hunt deserves respect.