It’s time for everybody in hip-hop to get familiar with the world’s famous Clinton Sparks. By now if you followed the mixtape game, DJ Clinton Sparks is smashing his competition by giving the industry some of the hottest mixtapes with hip-hop’s most talented MC’s.

From Talib Kweli, Kardinal Offishall, Busta Rhymes, Pharoahe Monch, the list goes on as Clinton Sparks gets it done and has more major moves in the works. Well known for his worldwide radio show Smashtime radio Clinton Sparks has one of hip-hop’s most down to earth personalities. Aside from being a popular DJ, Clinton Sparks is starting to gain recognition in the game heavy as an upcoming producer.

This is nothing new though as since he started making a run in the game he produced the majority of his mixtapes anyway. Before all this hard-work initially paid off for him it was many tough years of grinding before we all finally got to get familiar.

Born and raised in the city of Boston,  Clinton Sparks never had any intentions of being a DJ in the first place. The DJ gig was just used to get his foot into the door to lead him into what he really wanted to do which was produce.  Many people in his hometown of Boston would co-sign for him and recommend him to the labels, but still he was just ignored.

Now years later as he made his way into the industry he finally started to get recognize for his DJing and producing which eventually led him on to greater things. The whole world knows Clinton Sparks as his voice is heard regularly on the airwaves, he’s seen on TV too giving up the latest on the E! channel with his appearances on popular shows, and Mixunit.com.

Sixshot.com's Q The Question now catches up with Clinton Sparks so you readers of the hottest hip-hop site can see what’s good and get familiar.

Your doing your thing in the industry right now, talk about how you first got started doing what you do in the game right now with the hottest mixtapes and everything?

First of all thank you for that. How I got started was basically in my bedroom when I was ten years old. To make a long story short I just started ten years old in my bedroom learning how to DJ on my mother’s bootleg stereo system and then I started getting into producing. I would hear music on top 40 stations and different versions of songs that I never heard during the regular hours. I used to wonder how would they do that and I wanted to start manipulating music to do what I wanted to do.

I would start trying to do my own little remixes of songs. That’s when I really wanted to be a producer. I was shopping my beats giving them to local artists in Boston and doing remixes with popular acapellas and the big radio DJ’s around my way play them on the radio station. Then they would try to tell labels about this guy Clinton Sparks in Boston who makes beats, but they never really cared to hear about them because all they cared about was their record being played. They never heard about me so I was like whatever. 

After time and time again of hearing labels ignoring what the DJ’s told about me, in order for people to get familiar about me and my work I needed to become somebody important on radio. Once I realized that my next goal was to take my DJ ability and become somebody important on radio. I never wanted to be a DJ, that was never my goal in the first place. I just had to take that talent in order to make the connections and resources to kind of start forcing people my beats. That’s like fifteen years right there all fast-forwarded in one minute.

Speaking on you growing up in Boston, how would you describe the Boston hip-hop scene?

 It was very underground, but you had Acrobatic, Mr. Lif, they were the strong underground hip-hop foundation here. A lot of underground artists would come and peform here in places like “The Middle East” like Royce Da 5’9, Eminem came here, a lot of people would come here, because it was a really strong underground hip-hop foundation. The college stations really support the local and underground hip-hop as a big station here.

We had a show called Lyrically Boston that would play local artists and that’s we first started getting local music played on the big stations here. There is a lot of artists here trying to pop-up, Boston has a pretty big hip-hop music scene here.

How did you come up with the name Clinton Sparks?

Well when I was born my mother and father called me Clinton and their last names happen to be Sparks [kaughs].

[Laughs], Oh so that’s your real name?

Yeah!

I never knew that, I just though that was something you came up with that was catchy.

Well Q,  you need to get familiar [laughs].

Now Clinton you worked with Busta Rhymes, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli, what you think it was that made them decide to get with Clinton Sparks to do a mixtape?

 I think initially it would be the work ethic and the creativity that we have. It’s good with a guy who has such a brand and a syndicated radio show all over the world. From a business point of view for a guy who has a far reach and a big audience it’s a good move, on a personal level it’s respect for the creativity, the production, the talent, and then your concepts. Also being in the studio with some cool ideas and our reach together it made a lot of sense.

 Who was your favorite artists to work with so far?

You know what dude I’m jus so blessed to work with people and happy that people want to work with me. I pretty much excited to work with any and everybody. I would have to say working with Akon on the “Sorry, Blame It On Me” record is the most exciting thing that I’ve done. Then producing like 26 brand new records with Busta Rhymes, it’s pretty brilliant to have somebody you grew up to seeing them perform and then your working with them in the studio.

You know New Crack City was one of your hottest mixtapes.

Thank you very much.

Clinton, how you feel about the mixtape game right now?

Unfortunately it is not as booming as it once was which is sad. For one it was great for mixunit.com, two it was great for hip-hop, it’s culture, the audience, and the DJ’s. Three it was an awesome way for the consumer and the fans to hear more from their favorite artists.

It’s the fact that it’s not what it was. You can’t really pinpoint what’s the problem with the sales of albums and stuff like that whether it’s the Internet, mixtapes, but I definitely see with the downfall of mixtapes now. I’m tryna word this so people don’t get upset at me.

The downfall of mixtapes kind of almost made some people lose interest in Southern hip-hop. (Editors Note: Sparks would clarify this statement saying "What I meant was it made it harder for Down South artists to get exposure out of the South".)

I’m not saying that die-hard street dude that loves that hard hip-hop doesn’t like it anymore, I’m saying that people that are just music fans overall that would get mixtapes right now are finding other ways to get music.In that process of ways of  finding music their finding “other” music.

For instance, even DJing the club sound it went from a point where you would have to play this kind of music. Now were in a world where it’s almost like you can play 50 Cent’s “I Get Money” then you can play a dance record, then you can go play a Sean Paul record. It’s almost like you can play everything in most clubs and that’s what the world is coming too. It’s almost like that’s what people’s taste is coming to as well.

People are just more tolerant and accepting a wider range of music. For instance, Kanye West's  “Stronger” is a perfect example. Like if you put that record out three or four years ago, people are like “What the fuck is this”.

So Clinton speaking on hip-hop and the Internet, do you think it has helped hip-hop more or the other way around?

It definitely helped, it definitely helped unsigned artists get heard. For instance look at Soulja Boy who utilized the Internet in getting a fan base and buzz so much that it was worth him getting a record deal.

How you feel about the situation that went down with Mixunit.com not being exposed as it was?

It’s unfortunate you know, but we still making it happen, we still got awesome products up there, we still growing and blossoming. It’s still got a core fanbase and we got everything from DVD’s, magazines, to clothing, books, videogames, everything is still there and the only element that’s missing is mixtapes, but were providing in the legalizing of mixtapes.

A lot of people don’t know that you’re a producer, speak on being one of the hottest producers coming up in the game?

Thank you for that, well anybody that really listens to my mixtapes would know, because I produce most of the stuff on my mixtapes. New Crack City with Busta and things like that. Ever since I first started doing mixtapes in ’98, I produced all my mixtapes. Everybody that has followed me since ’98 and when you look at the credits you see Clinton Sparks. Some still don’t get it, you produce most of the shit and they like “Word, you produce”? and I’m like “Dude did you not read the credits”.

Yeah, but it’s definitely becoming more evident that I’m a producer and even more so that I’m a writer. I helped produce and co-write  the Akon "Sorry, Blame It On Me" record and now I just produced the Ludacris single featuring Rick Ross and Bun B “Down In Da Durty” of the new DTP compilation.

Being a producer who were some of your influences coming up?

Teddy Riley.

Can you tell me why?

Teddy Riley was my number one influence and obviously when I got older, people like Timbaland, Dr. Dre, The Neptunes. All those type of people had versatility and are open-minded and can do more than just one thing. One day I’ll make a dance record, one day I’ll make a hip-hop record, the next day I’ll make a rock record. I’m totally across the spectrum when it comes to producing and the more that my production comes out now, the more people will start realizing it like “What, Clinton got a record with The Killers, got Damn who does that”.

Being a producer can you tell people what are the keys to making a hit record?

It’s really your ear, I don’t know to be honest with you. I know the elements, but I don’t know the 1,2 thing because you never know what’s going to be a hit. Sometimes you know when something is going to be a hit, it’s really like matching the right music with the right artists too. You can have a hit beat and put the wrong verse on it and it doesn’t work. You can have even a decent beat and get a big artist making it a hit. So it’s so many different things that go into making a hit. It’s really just kind of paying attention to what’s going on right now and what motivates, excites, and drives people.

Q: How you feel about ringtones selling more than albums these days?

Well whatever is going to make music money I’m all for it.

That’s understandable, Clinton Sparks what else you have going on as far as mixtapes, producing, etc?

 I’m doing a lot of things man. One thing I’m not sure if your aware of, but I’m the music correspondent for the E! channel. I’m on the E! channel every week which is in 600 million homes every week in 123 different countries. I’m on the daily ten every Tuesday and I got a segment promoting all the new albums coming out that day.

I have a Get Familiar segment where I get people familiar with a new band or artist that’s on the come up, because everybody may not be familiar with them.That’s huge right there and I just signed a big publishing deal to produce records. My radio show Smashtime radio is one of the biggest hip-hop shows and live in Australia, Belgium, Virgin Islands, Canada, so the show is growing. It’s a three hour R&B and hip-hop show and it’s growing every week.

I’m also gonna be a host on Karmaloop.com, Karmaloop.com is a fashion website.I just created two new card games for Casinos and I got my lawyers getting all the patents doing all the legal work and were gonna start getting that in Casinos all-over the world.

I’m also working with this hot artist out of Boston his name is LT. We also have flixunit.com which is a porno site so for all you horny dudes out there log on to flixunit.com.

So I see Clinton Sparks have all types of hustles right now?

Well you know it’s a huge thing, I pitched a deal at E! network at the Hard Rock Café to do a E! branded “Daily Ten” party every Saturday in Vegas. Starting Halloween weekend, we will be throwing the biggest parties every week in Vegas at the Hard Rock and it’s actually called “Smashtime”. Were gonna have all major movie premiere parties, album release parties, it’s gonna be big every week, and it’s right to do it in Vegas.

Clinton Sparks definitely going to get his party on!

Oh yeah you definitely need to write-down that Clinton Sparks specializes in disassembling buildings and smashing down parties.

Oh yeah, you a party-rocker like that?

Clinton Sparks: Come on dude get familiar, you need to come to a party and ask that question again.

Hopefully when I meet you one day I’m a see how you get it done.

Clinton Sparks: Definitely.

Clinton Sparks appreciate the interview. Any final message for Sixshot.com fans?

Appreciate ya’ll for supporting me and everybody that hit me up on myspace.com/djclintonsparks, and anybody that comes to Clintonsparks.com. Everybody that listens to my radio show, I truly appreciate that and don’t forget you can go to Clintonsparks.com and download all my mixtapes for free.

This interview was conducted and written for Sixshot.com by Quinton Hatfield