Artist You Should Know: Clinton Sparks

The man behind some of the biggest hits in popular music is finally putting his own name in the forefront. For Clinton Sparks, working with some of the biggest acts in music, such as Akon, T.I., Ludacris and Lady Gaga, was a catalyst for pursuing his own record deal. And his hustle to break through the industry was relentless.

"I have a lot of ideas that people don't get necessarily [and] so in order for the world to hear them, I have to do them myself," he says.

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The Boston-native quickly molded himself into an entertainment tour de force: equal parts DJ, dancer, writer, singer, beatboxer, personality, and producer.

"It was just me in my basement honing my skills, hearing songs on the radio and trying to manipulate them and then writing over those and I started with local artists in Boston, writing records for them," he recalls.

And now the producer is enjoying his own success with his current hit single Gold Rush, featuring 2 Chainz, Macklemore, and D.A. off his forthcoming solo debut, Disco Ball and Chain. In true Clinton fashion, he sought after Macklemore himself to contribute to the track.

"This guy is incredible. He's somebody I [wanted] to hang out with, like, not even just work with," he said of the Thirft Shop rapper. "So one day on Twitter I just said, 'Somebody in Seattle get me in touch with Macklemore' and 10 minutes later he responded."

The single has been featured on So You Think You Can Dance, The X Factor, and was the official anthem for WWE's SummerSlam PPV.

Watch the full interview to find out what collaborators Clinton has lined up to appear on his full album, due next year. Until then, you can expect a brand new EP to drop in October.