How to be a Superstar

Every day I wake up and think to myself, what am I doing that matters to anyone? What do I do that REALLY matters?? Does anybody care?? I often find myself not having a solid answer, by my standards at least. Sure I may make some people laugh or I may make some people dance and forget their problems in the club and hopefully I inspire some people along the way but I never feel like I'm doing enough. In my mind I have this thought that the more I work, the more adequate I am, the more I matter... But am I missing life which essentially is the bigger picture. Am I missing time with my son, my wife, my family or is it my work that allows me to spend time with them because I can afford to take a trip or a day off while others have to work??
If I don't work my self to death I feel I'm doing a diservice to my family which I created and I'm leaving them with an unstable financial future.

Someone called me a superstar the other night & it got me to thinking. On one hand I could have taken that as a compliment that they considered my being recognized for the work that I do to be at a level of a superstar or because I'm on tv or on the radio, online, etc. What it did was get me to thinking "What is a superstar actually?" Is it infact someone that achieves great popularity and respect for their body of work??

Is that the only way someone can be considered a superstar??

I spend a great deal of my time working or thinking of work to the point I almost disconnect from what's around me which sometimes are the most important things, my family. To understand me now is to understand where I came from. I fortunately am part of the small group that came from absolutely nothing and made something out of my life and I think my worry of going back to food stamps and welfare gives me an insatiable appetite for success because I never I want my son to ever be apart of that world. You know I hear a lot of people say all they want for their children is to be happy but can happiness pay the bills or help you if you're hospitalized and quite frankly I never heard anyone tell me I can go on a trip for 4 to Disney for the price of happiness. Have goals for them. Have them set goals. When you achieve a goal it creates happiness. Knowing that you accomplished something you set out to do feels awesome!

In a quest to achieve success, those that truly understand what that means it can be easy to lose yourself and your purpose. You can get so caught up in making sure that the people you care about will be okay that you forget about yourself being okay or that they actually are not okay because your not there with them which is, to them, what really matters. Trust me, if anyone understands what it means to juggle the reality of paying the bills, spending time with your family and chasing your dream, I'm in the front of that line. Incidentally, I think I've gone so hard at chasing my dream that I passed it and its now chasing me...

Anyhow, what I'm trying to get at is discover the meaning in your life. Discover your meaning. Maybe what your doing isn't what you were meant to do and your forcing a circle into a square sort of speak. Everyone wants to be a superstar but tends to forget that Superstars are not just people that are on tv or on the radio, in magazines being hounded by the paparazzi, etc. A Superstar is a teacher that really cares about the student (I love teachers btw and think they are totally underpaid), a mother or father that spends quality time with their children. A student that studies to better themself. Someone that plants a tree, helps an elderly person across the road. I think you get my point. In a fast moving, technology driven "I want to be famous" world sometimes you need to just slow down and enjoy your life and enjoy the lives of others.

Read your kid a story tonight, call your relative that you haven't spoke to in awhile, take that risk and follow your dream, donate your time, help a neighbor.

Life moves pretty fast, if you don't get involved you might miss it...

Be involved with YOUR LIFE...

Be a Superstar!!!!!

Your friend,
Clinton

Colby O'Donis "Colby O" Album In Stores NOW!!!

Get Familiar with my boy Colby O'Donis album which dropped this week titled Colby O. I produced 4 records on the album along with my partners Akon, Kamau Georges & Tombstone. As some of you may already now I produced his second single titled "Don't Turn Back" and I'm also in the video which you can see here on my site. Anyhow, I know this sounds bias because I'm involved but even if you take off my records this is a really good album. As a matter of fact, the best record on the album in my opinion is one I had nothing to do with and its called "Let You Go" a SMASH!!!!! Why they didn't send that out as a single is baffling to me. The album is in stores, get familiar and go support.

Buy it on iTunes
But it on Amazon.com
Or go to your nearest BestBuy, WalMart or local music retailer.

KLTV: T.I.'s Paper Trail

SMASHTIME: Nina Sky & Columbus Short

Press: Rolling Stone Magazine Issue 1061

SmashTime Radio: Dane Cook Interview Snippet

Get Familiar with some Boston boys! So I interviewed my boy Dane Cook today. He is promoting his new movie "My Best Friends Girl." We have been going back and forth on email trying to figure out when he can make it to the show and we finally made it happen today! Be sure to tune in next week and hear the entire interview but for now check out this quick video clip of said interview... Good enough! Sparks, out!

MTV Mixtape Mondays: CitizenFOB Mixtape

• Celebrity News

So I wanted to write a blog thanking all of you who have followed my career and have excepted my experimental sometimes not what you would expect of me projects. A lot of people know me strictly based off from my Hip Hop history whether it be mixtapes or my radio shows, DJing in the clubs or my production. Well, I have always been a fan of music ranging from Michael Jackson to Oasis to De la soul and big daddy kane to kanye West & Jodeci to twisted sister, Metallica to Duran Duran & Weezer to Common & Biggie. I love and have been influenced by all genres of music. I was the kid that would go to the store & steal Word up & Circus magazines as well as Mad & Fangoria but that's another story. Anyhow, due to my success in Hip Hop it has allowed me to work with artist & bands that are not Hip Hop per say. Most recently I was able to work with Fallout Boy on a CD project titled "Welcome to the new administration". Its very cool to have those that would respond favorably to a hip hop project of mine just as enthusaistic to this project & I want to thank you all for that. The CD was downloaded just off from friendsorenemies.com alone over 50,000 times in just the 1st 2 days....Needless to say I have a lot more projects in the works & hope u like them as well. Check out what Rolling Stone magazine had to say about the tape and also for your viewing enjoyment. I was able to attain the behind the scenes footage of my day with Pete & Patrick doing interviews for MTVnews & E!.......Get Familiar & Enjoy!

You Never Know Who's Listening

You never know who's listening....

I say this because time & time again I meet "celebrities" who tell me upon meeting them "I love your mixtapes" or " I listen to your radio show all the time" & I'm like "Wooord, Samuel L. Jackson is Familiar?" In the words of the late great B.I.G. "Whoever thought that hip hop would take us this far?" I never would have thought that being someone who went in & smashed down hood parties & made mixtapes for the streets would be on the E! Network interviewing Jessica Simpson but you never know who's listening. I guess all my constant self promotion & continuously yelling Get Familiar everywhere worked. (Side note, MANY people use to tell me to stop saying get familiar so much or yo you need to switch that get familiar shit up - funny thing is, I don't know where any of those dudes are anymore or what they are doing w/ their life) anyhow, back to my point.

I never stop promoting & I never assume someone knows who I am or what I've accomplished. As a matter of fact, although some people consider me a popular DJ that has achieved considerable success, I still feel like & still work everyday as if I'm still trying to get on. Maybe I'm extremely afraid of failure or I'm to naïve to see I've actually made it. Whatever the case I always work as if I'm trying to prove myself & convince you on why you should be a fan of my work. I never take a supporter, listener, fan for granted. I continually feel like I must work harder to keep u listening....ah, there's that word "listening" again. You never know who's "listening".

Well, it seems as if a lot of people are listening to what I have been doing. Case & point. A kid by the name of Ben Lyons from NY who was working for a music trade magazine was a fan of my mixtapes & was heading up a DJ panel for his mags conference, so he reached out to me along w/ kid capri, jus ske & some other DJs to participate. Now I didn't know this kid but because of his enthusiasm about my mixtapes & his girl @ the time being a friend of mine I agreed to travel to NY on my own dime to be apart of this panel. (Okay, another side note. A week before this panel Eminem was going to be doing a show in Boston, my hometown & was going to bring me on stage in front of my city & big me up....trust me, I wanted to cancel this mystery panel that some kid I don't even know asked me to do but I am a person of my word & wasn't going to leave him hanging so I painfully had to tell Shady I will not be in Boston that day then coincidentally there was a snowstorm that day driving to NY but I still went) Anyhow, the panel was decent & Ben was extremely excited to have me apart of it & quite frankly I was happy to be there & kick it w/ capri & jus ske. Now, Fast Forward yrs later the kid Ben Lyons turns out to be the son of the popular movie critic Jeffrey Lyons unbenounced to me & he gets a job as movie critic for the E! Channel. They eventually have a mtg & the executive producer of The Daily Ten says to Ben " I need someone like you that can do for us what u do for movies but for music" Bens immediate response is "We have to get Clinton Sparks" the rest is history. You never know who's listening.

A couple of yrs back I did a pretty big mixtape w/ Kanye West titled "touch the sky". I was on MTV as a guest for it. It was featured on every website, mags,etc. Now when I make these CDs I'm for the most part making them for 2 reasons. 1 is because I'm just a creative person that always wants to be working & create cool new music if for nothing else my own listening pleasure & 2. To feed the streets w/ hot new shit. We all know or @ least assumed mixtapes were this underground, street thing we were doing but you never know who's listening & recently a band that wasn't as big then when I dropped the CD just so happened to be listening & now have become one of the most popular bands on the world & called me 3 weeks ago to do a mixtape w/ them. That band.......... Falloutboy.

I do a huge party in Las Vegas every Saturday in Body English @ the Hard Rock hotel & casino & there are constantly major celebrities in my party but there are also big corporate execs, Promoters for other clubs & even TV execs. A few weeks back a host comes to me while I'm spinning & says "Can u autograph one of your mixtapes for this guy, he's a huge fan of yours" naturally I agree to sign it. 10 minutes later the guy I signed a CD for comes over to show his gratitude & gives me his business card. He happened to be the head purchaser for Target ( you know the main person that it would be great to be cool with if say you wanted to launch a clothing line or any kind of product for that matter.)

I get a call from Telepictures, the production company that produces the Ellen show, Tyra,etc. Why would they call you ask??? Well, seems they are listening too. Based off my interviews on my radio show they wanted to meet me to discuss doing a talk show w/ me as the host. Now whether this happens or not isn't the point, its merely to show you the windows of oppurtunity.

The moral of this blog is take pride in your work & treat everything you do like its your only shot to proove your worthy to be listened to or be a fan of. There are a lot of people out there doing the same thing your doing & people can be their fan just as much as they can be yours. Stand out. Make yourself the obvious choice & respect & value them. Its hard enough to convince someone to rock with you but its a job to keep them rocking!!!! No days off for you because your job is to help them enjoy their days off...... Get Familiar!

.......Now get to work because you never know who's listening!