On Friday October 27th Clinton Sparks and Diddy were supposed to
continue their worldwide tour to promote Diddy's new album, Press
Play. As Diddy's official DJ, Clinton Sparks would be expected to
go with him. But it was Sparks and his wife's five year wedding anniversary
so he told Diddy to put everything on hold. That's right, Mr. Combs
had to wait for Clinton Sparks.
Sparks still packed his bags and left the house at 6 am. He sent
flowers to his wife and pretended to be gone. Yet when Kim's family
took her to lunch, Sparks had a surprise waiting for his wife. The
culmination everything he'd been working on besides music for six
months would come to fruition at a movie theater. Sparks created
a film to reflect on the life of him and his wife since the time
they were born. "It's like Behind the Scenes, Behind the Music,
and True Hollywood Story all rolled into one," he added excitedly.
Sparks interviewed friends and family and scored the entire film.
Besides being a romantic, Clinton Sparks is one of the hottest DJs
in the game right now. As Diddy's official DJ and the host of the
syndicated radio show "SmashTime Radio," Sparks has won
every major award a DJ can win. "They're going to have to develop
some new awards," Sparks joked. Some of the long list of awards
Sparks has added to his resume include: Mixtape DJ of the Year, Radio
DJ of the Year, Satellite Radio DJ of the Year, Powerplayer of the
Year, and Syndicated Radio Show of the Year at the Dominican Republic
Power Summit.
Sparks' success is largely attributed to his approach to life. For
one, he is always running. The Boston native drives from his hometown
to New York once a week for his Sirius "Smashtime" radio
show on Eminem's Shade45 channel. The show, which has received much
acclaim, puts him together with guests such as Janet Jackson Tommy
Lee, Samuel L. Jackson. Future guest include Chris Brown, Young Jeezy,
Ludacris, Jaime Foxx, and other hot names in the industry.
This fall had C.Sparks making public appearances with Diddy on the
Today Show, AOL Sessions, and BET's 106 & Park. He also finished
mixing the second anniversary Smashtime Radio Shade45 mixtape. Sparks
worked with Kay Slay on Saigon's mixtape, which dropped earlier this
year.
When asked how he juggles his work in the industry with family life
and staying sane, Sparks chuckled a bit and his sincere smile radiated
through the phone. He set in on a story about when he was on a panel
with other big name DJs such as DJ Drama. Someone asked how they
balance their lives with their work. Sparks described the moment
with excitement, "And all the panelists literally turned toward
me and said 'Yeah Clinton, how do you do it?'"
When asked how he does everything Sparks responds "How do you
not? I'm just trying to stay relevant and stay ten steps ahead of
these guys that want to take my position. So, how I am able to do
it is by getting little sleep, a lot of focus, a great team that
I have with me now, and a very supportive understanding wife," Sparks
said.
In addition to his determination and incredible work ethic, Sparks
does everything he can to make negotiations win-win situations. It's
more about how he can help other people than reaping the benefits. "Nine
times out of ten, when I go into having a meeting with someone I
am able to close the deal because I am coming with a good product,
a good personality and a good attitude about it," Clinton stated
confidently. Such was the case when Clinton introduced himself to
the Australian public and secured a record deal with Universal Australia,
which will drop his personal mixtape forthcoming next year. He's
also recently decided to collaborate with Tommy Lee on a record.
Sparks innovative style and amazing sound has spread throughout
the world and secured him positions with some of the industry's greatest.
In addition to his position as top DJ he's collaborated with Dr.
Dre in producing Busta Rhyme's The Big Bang Album and he also produced
some of the Biggie Duets album. Other cooked up projects includea
monster mixtape with Diddy, continuing the Smashtime Radio series,
and a collabo banger with Big Mike and Hi-Tek.
Happy with his list of successes but never contented enough to stop
working, Sparks is constantly in pursuit of his dreams, which many
people would say have already been achieved. "Fortunately I
was blessed with a mind that torments me with creativeness," he
said. "I have the ability to lock myself in a room and just
put a piece of paper and pen in front of me and jot down ideas. If
you had a team around me to just implement my ideas we'd all be very,
very, very rich."
The urge to stray away from the normal "You feel me" or "You
heard" of radio DJs, when Sparks signed a deal for radio he
began using his creative talents to find a unique way to sign on.
One of the ideas he wrote down was "Get familiar." So
Sparks had his three year old nephew in the studio saying lines for
the radio. One of the last things he said was "Get familiar," and
the irresistible young kid's voice has labeled Sparks' nephew "The
Get Familiar Kid" for the past six years. Tickled by the nickname
so much Sparks said, "He loves it so much he wants to change
his last name to mine."
Since that time Sparks' "Get familiar" line has taken
off. It invites audiences into both his radio work, and his mixtapes
which are dropping so fast that if you blink Sparks will have already
made headlines with his new work. When asked about the importance
of mixtapes Sparks responded "I couldn't imagine hip-hop without
the mixtape. To me the mixtape is has become like the fifth element
of hip-hop." During a time when most of the biggest names in
the industry are releasing mixtapes, Sparks is on the cusp and ten
steps ahead of the rest.
One of the hottest names in the game already, there's no doubt that
Sparks will continue to make a reputation for himself in the industry. "I
mean I wake up everyday and I get excited about what is going to
happen today or who is going to call me or what opportunity might
reveal itself." Sparks says. "I am excited all the time.
Life is great. When I say that I am not being facetious; I am very
serious." Fans will certainly see Clinton Sparks optimistic
and enthusiastic attitude for years to come.
--Lauren Proctor
I'm bout to drop a monster mixtape w/Puff....I produced like 12
new records w/50,Lil'wayne,fat joe,Snoop,Clipse,Jada,Luda,Rick Ross,etc & then
3 other bangers 1.SmashtimeRadio vol 3 w/ T.I.,Yung Joc & Rick
Ross 2.Me,Big Mike & HiTek 3.Me,Kay Slay & Saigon |
