Clinton Sparks and Kanye West: Touch the Sky, the Mixtape

HHH Official Rating: 3.5/5
Beats Rating: 4/5
Lyrics Rating: 3.5/5
Music Quality: 3.5/5

















Written by Redman122...The talk of Brooklyn




I chose to review Clinton Sparks' latest because the man is underappreciated and has always been one of my favorite mixtape moguls. He started gaining some more buzz when he put out the Shady Records mixtape for the Anger Management Two tour this past summer. In addition, Sparks has remained on the grind on the Shade 45 station, and be sure to check him out for those who have Sirius radio.

I was turned off at first, however, with the inclusion of the Louis Vuitton Don himself, Kanye West, because I didnt know how these two would sound together. Furthermore, I usually do not like a mixtape hosted by two individuals. It can be alittle too much to one's ear hearing TWO guys screaming and yelling over tracks, let alone one.

After listening to the tape, one may think its a mix bag. Things do get started off on a high note as 'ye spits with his usual over the top swagger and charm that we all love (or hate) on a freestyle featuring lesser known Bump J and Sky Polaroid. The freestyle works, as both "newcomers" hold their own. Kanye appears again on other tracks, but still manages to leave the majority of the work to Clinton Sparks. For the D-Block fans, Sparks surprised me with a flip of the "Cheers" theme, and it works: mainly because the Lox are able to keep it to their usual street bravado. The boys appear again throughout the mixtape, and show once again why they are some of the most respected rappers when it comes to the streets.

Other appearances on the mixxtape come from mainstream stars such as Busta Rhymes and Dr. Dre, Pharell, Diddy and Biggie, as well as Nas, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Ludacris, and Mike Jones (sigh). Busta Rhymes appears on a few tracks, and like usual these days, absolutly kills it. On "Look Who," Busta gets the help from the doctor himself, and Clinton Sparks produces a top notch beat. Other notable tracks include Diddy and The Notorious one on "Welcome to Bad Boy" which shows Combs once again picking some good ghostwriters.

There are some newcomers on the tape as well, and they are able to hold their own with the hip hop heavyweights. Bossman kills his "Untouchable" freestyle and the upcoming world wonder himself, Papoose, shows why hes NY's best new rapper in his freestyle. Nevertheless, the mixtape is dominated by the established stars and tracks such as "Twin Towers" with Jay-Z and Nas, and "Rap Phenomenon Part II" stand out over the songs by the lesser known artists.

Some weak tracks come courtesy of Remy MAAAA(Martin) on her boring live freestyle and N.O.R.E. on "Watch Me Now." Other than that, the rest of the tape won't cause too many people to hit the skip button that often.

If you are a fan of say Kanye West, D-Block, and Biggie, cop this tape because they appear the most. Furthermore, those Clinton Sparks fans like myself will not be dissapointed by this effort, as it shows why Sparks deserves the respect some of these other DJ's and producers are getting.

*And a special shoutout to M-Press aka Chiz, we got you....you're killing it right now*

Tracklist:

1 - Clinton Sparks Intro
2 - Kanye West Intro - Coronation [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
3 - Kanye West, Bump J & Sly Polaroid - Freestyle
4 - Pharrell & N.O.R.E - Yeah Nigga [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
5 - Busta Rhymes feat. Dr. Dre - Look Who [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
6 - D-Block feat. Sheek, Styles P & Jae Hood - Take Everything [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
7 - Diddy & Notorious B.I.G - Welcome To Bad Boy [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
8 - Kanye West - So Offensive [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
9 - Freeway feat. Jay-Z - R.O.C. Too Strong [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
10 - Notorious B.I.G - Rap Phenomenon Pt. II [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
11 - Lil' Kim - Get Touched [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
12 - Kanye West - Blow Your Mind [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
13 - Nas & Jay-Z - Twin Towers [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
14 - D-Block feat. Styles P - Ready To Dump [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
15 - Slim Thug - Round Here [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
16 - D-Block feat. Sheek Louch - Set It Off [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
17 - Alicia Keys (Live On SmashTime Radio/Shade 45 with Clinton Sparks)
18 - Ludacris & Shawnna - He Said, She Said [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
19 - Mike Jones & Slim Thug - H-Town [prod. by Tombstone & Clinton Sparks]
20 - N.O.R.E feat. Pharrell - Watch Me Now [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
21 - Kanye West - Sophomore Slump (Interlude)
22 - Busta Rhymes feat. Pharrell - Followers [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
23 - Q-Tip - Freestyle (Live On SmashTime Radio/Shade 45 With Clinton Sparks)
24 - Kardinal Offishall - GFN [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
25 - Kanye West & Busta Rhymes - Love To Hate [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
26 - Peedi Crakk & Young Chris - Freestyle (Live On SmashTime Radio/Shade 45) [prod. by Clinton Sparks]
27 - Papoose - Freestyle
28 - Remy Ma - Freestyle (Live On SmashTime Radio/Shade 45 With Clinton Sparks)
29 - Bossman - Untouchable [prod. by Clinton Sparks] (Baltimore)
30 - L.T. - Rain When Its Hot (Boston)
31 - Kanye West Outro
32 - SmashTime Radio // Get Familiar