“The ‘unexpected’ part of my album is that I can actually rhyme; I’m actually a good rapper,” she joked.
Hunter has a long association with the music industry, making house music for Island Records before signing with Tommy Boy Records in the early 1990s, a relationship that didn’t pan out.
“Tommy Boy basically didn’t know what kind of music to do with me, and I got shelved,” she explained.
Despite the setback, Hunter remained tightly connected to the hip-hop world, collaborating on or being the subject of songs by industry heavyweights such as Lil’ Kim, LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur.
She parlayed those connections to help form her own label, Blo Records, for which she acts as CEO and premier artist.
“People know me for many different things, but they really don’t know all of me,” she said of the album’s “Unexpected” title. “On this album, people get to find out what really makes me Double H.”
Among the things that make her “Double H” is an appreciation for all things artistic. In addition to releasing an album, Hunter also appeared on the BET show “Oh Drama” during the 2001 season, is in the process of opening a Brooklyn art gallery and has penned a novel.
“It’s really, right now, trademarking my life and me to the fullest,” she said of her various ventures.
“I want people to understand there’s more to me than a hot fantasy.”
