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Omilio Sparks - Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop
Interview by: Blaksicilian
Omilio Sparks Listening Party, NYC
 Clad in a designer jeans and a matching white tee, Omilio Sparks is as sharp as a tack. One has to admire how he gregariously works his invite-only listening party, greeting press with the confidence of a seasoned artist, when it was only eight years ago that he was a new artist on Roc-A-Fella Records. After the very public Jay and Dame breakup that left the careers of State Property members in limbo, most fans thought the outspoken half of the duo O and Sparks would never be heard from again. But instead Sparks and his new label Colossal Entertainment, created a buzz on Myspace.com that resulted in a distribution and marketing deal with independent powerhouse Koch Records. These days, for “Speezy” the game is more than just music. He’s now an entrepreneur who treats his craft and image as a business entity instead of just state property. I sat down with State P’s most charismatic member to talk about the past, the present and what the future holds for Omilio Sparks and The Movement.
 Nobodysmiling.com : How does it feel to have a new start at a time when a lot of your former Roc-A-Fella lablemates are M.I.A?
Omilio Sparks : It feels good! I feel like the handcuffs is off (smiles)… I got more free will and I can spread my wings a little more because I run my own company and I got distribution with Koch. It feels good. Shout out to all my boys in State P, keep ya heads up and I got y’all.
Nobodysmiling.com : What have you learned from that experience?
Omilio Sparks : Yeah. It was a lot of drama but what I learned from when I got signed at 19 to what I know now is that it’s all business. The breakup with State P happened after Dame and Jay broke up. As a result, they split us up, then Mac got arrested…it was just a trickle down effect. Instead of me signing back with someone else, I went ahead and started my own label and kept it moving. It was a smart choice for me to go independent, it feels good. Not only did I learn a lot but I got to this place due to that. Even through past disagreements that me and Jay had. I needed that experience because I was a child when I went over the and now I’m a grown man. I respect those situations and I respect the game. I thank them and God bless them.
Nobodysmiling.com : What is your biggest accomplishment to date?
Omilio Sparks : My biggest accomplishment was learning a lot, sharpening myself as a businessman and getting this solo project done. I’m happy about it and it’s what I’m most proud of. The two, three years during the break-up I went to school and got a lot accomplished in my personal life. I grew more and became more mature.
Nobodysmiling.com : I like that you turned a negative into a positive instead of being bitter about the past...where does that maturity come from?
Omilio Sparks : I come from nothing and because of that I can understand that sometimes you never know what drives a person to do what they do. You never know what triggers a person to do what they do. We all have our faults and our differences, I aint got time to figure it out but time pass and time kicks e’erybody in the ass. You grow and you learn. It easy to whyle out and get upset but for what? I’m not doing badly for myself… But if I’m forced to (whyle out) I can; I’m a man. But it takes too much energy to argue and they ain’t doing any damage so I keep it moving. It feels good when you can make the right choices and watch the good things unfold.
Nobodysmiling.com : A lot of people don't know about your songwriting abilities, are you gonna see more of that ASCAP mpney soon or what?
Omilio Sparks : Oh yeah! (smiles and laughs) I got my own publishing company, Omilio Sparks Entertainment publishing. I’m definitely gonna do more writing in the future…A lot of people don’t know I wrote the hook to “I Just Wanna Love U”… I’m surprised you knew (smiles). I worked on a lot of different projects like the Tough Luv album, stuff for Jay-Z.
Nobodysmiling.com : You show a lot of veratility in your music and aren't afraid to have fun on a track...why don't we see more of that in Hip-Hop today?
Omilio Sparks : A lot of people are caught up in image and that’s why you don’t see a lot of that in music. I’m a man, so I’m not gonna act like I don’t go through changes. Life is chess not checkers so I’m gon’ play my part. Even your hardest, coldest person goes through different changes. I appreciate you noticing that because I bring a lot to the table when I write things. That’s what I miss about the game: touching the people through my music. A lot of times the work I do behind-the-scenes (hooks, lyrics, concepts) goes unnoticed and I don’t get my just due.
Nobodysmiling.com : What can we expect from the new album? What can fans expect from Sparks' live show?
Omilio Sparks : That’s what I really wanted to discuss. I don’t want to bore people; I want a vivid image on stage of what I want to portray. I would love to work with The Roots for a live show. On the album, I’m working with a lot of new cats…Versatile Dilemma who did “DJ Turn it Up” and “In the Ghetto”, Black King, Ruggedness, Bubba Sanchez who did “Paper Chase”. K.P. who did “It Ain’t My Fault”, Doc Storm and so many others. I had a ball doing this album and I’m happy. On this album I wanna give the underdogs a chance because it’s only right.
Nobodysmiling.com : Where's Oschino?
Omilio Sparks : O just came home. Shout out to Oschino! Peedi’s here too, that’s my boy. We are all still cool. I got Peedi signed but it’s different now that he’s still there and I left. He can see things clearer now.
Nobodysmiling.com : Whats next for Omilio Sparks?
Omilio Sparks : Holla at Froggy, Speezy baby!(laughs) The Payback is in stores August 14th. After that I wanna drop The Movement album which is my team. I just finished a movie with Freeway called What We Do that’s scheduled to premiere in Philly July 25th and will hit theaters nationwide later. But I definitely wanna keep my face out there, ‘cause this is my passion. I’m on my way to L.A. too, to read for scripts…Eve, baby girl, I’m on ya heels! (laughs) This is just the beginning of a new beginning.
Nobodysmiling.com : Any misconseptions people had about you that you want to address?
Omilio Sparks : In the past, they had me pegged as this wild cowboy, who just whyled out all the time, partying. That wasn’t the case at all. Don’t believe everything you read or hear. Meet me first before you judge me.
Album: The Payback (Colossal Entertainment/Koch Records)
Release Date: August 14th
Producers:
Hot Tracks: “4 the Love of $”, “Outta Control” feat. Peedi Peedi, “It Ain’t My Fault”, and “Do What It Do”
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