Upclose with Clinton Sparks
Mixtape DJ and producer Clinton Sparks has laid tracks for everyone from Busta Rhymes to Kanye West. He made Rolling Stone’s top 10 DJ list last year, started syndicated hip-hop radio show Smash Time Radio and has aggressively made a name for himself as one of hip-hop's best.
HK Magazine: How did it all kick off?
Clinton Sparks: I always wanted to be recognized as a producer. But when I was trying to shop my beats to labels, no one cared about my music or who I was. I was a nobody. By ’99, I’d realized I needed to be an important person in music for these people to care. So I used my DJing to brand myself, build the connections that I needed.
HK: What was the turning point?
CS: Turning points happen all the time. But becoming more than a “regular” DJ?
I really don’t feel that I’ve done anything to make people say I’m that star guy. I could make 20 million albums and think, God, I still didn’t do that other one. I don’t think about what I’ve accomplished; I think about what I haven’t.
HK: Do you ever wonder what the hell you’re doing?
CS: Every day. I still think, what if I drop it tomorrow? That’s one of the things that contributed to my success – I’m never content, always nervous and always worrying about tomorrow. If I’m not doing a whole lot of stuff, I feel inadequate. The person in front of me would never know but inside, I’m going crazy. During interviews or studio time or whatever, I’ll be so focused, I’ll come out of it not remembering a thing I did.
HK: Randomly, what was your room like in high school?
CS: I had a lot of sneakers and a lot of records. And my bed was always made. Yes, by me. Even to this day, I can’t work if my bed is unmade. I have little weird OCDs like that. When I know I’m going to spend a whole day in the studio, I need to vacuum everything before I start. If I see a piece of lint on the floor, it might as well be a dead body, it’s so distracting.
HK: So what sets you apart from the unwashed DJ masses?
CS: Every other DJ will say the same thing - motivation and drive. I don’t play games, I don’t play sports, I don’t know about the new sneaker Nike is putting out.
All I do is work. I work until I sleep. My work is my fun. I DJ all over the world flying on my own pocket. People don’t see the bigger picture. They only care about the bottom line, but put it this way, there’s nobody better to invest in than yourself. People say they don’t know how I do it. I say I don’t know how you don’t do it.