K. Sparks facts for kids

Kyle Hunter, known by his stage name K. Sparks, is an American hip hop artist. He is also a ghostwriter, meaning he writes songs for other artists without getting public credit. K. Sparks started making music in 1993. Since then, he has released many albums. Some of his well-known albums include Definition (2008), Tomorrow Today (2011), Read Between The Lines (2012), Self-Portrait (2013), Vintage Art (2014), The Blue Tape 2 (2014), Seasons Theme (2016), Urban Couture (2017), and Note to Self (2018).

K. Sparks has worked with many famous artists. These include The Temptations, Kid Cudi, Sabina Ddumba, Joell Ortiz, DJ Envy, Nick Cannon, and Rapsody. He has also performed at big events and festivals. He has shared the stage with artists like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Joe Budden, and Talib Kweli. In 2010, he was featured in The Source Magazine, a popular hip hop magazine. K. Sparks also owns his own company, Double Up Entertainment. This company helps with music production, licensing, and branding. In 2009, he won an award for Best New Artist (Unsigned/Independent).

Early Life and Beginnings

Kyle Hunter was born in Queens, New York. His father was a former soldier and a Jazz musician. His mother was a school teacher who worked for the New York City Board of Education. She was a graduate of Harvard University and taught him the importance of education.

When he was young, Sparks loved drawing. He even won an award to attend Cooper Union College for Architecture. He said that going to art school helped him see things from many different points of view. It made him more open to different cultures.

K. Sparks started freestyle rapping when he was thirteen years old. He began performing at shows in New York City. As he became more known, Nick Cannon noticed him. Nick Cannon signed K. Sparks to record for his Wild Style Champs album. In 2005, K. Sparks started his own company, Double Up Entertainment. He faced personal challenges, including the loss of his mother in 2013 and his brother in 2015.

Music Career Highlights

K. Sparks has released many mixtapes and studio albums since 1993. His main recording career started in 2008 with his album Definition. This album was produced by Pajozo and featured Kid Cudi. It was very popular, with over 26,300 downloads. His song "Take Em High" became very popular online. This led to him being contacted by a record label.

K. Sparks also started writing songs for other artists behind the scenes. He received many beats from producer EZ Elpee. He wrote songs and hooks that were sent to Sony Music. Because of his writing skills, he signed a recording contract with IODA, which is part of Sony Music. This led to his album Hip Hop 101.

He also showed his strong work ethic with a weekly series called Manic Mondays. For a whole year, he released a new original song every Monday. Later, he signed with Fat Beats Records. He released his album Tomorrow Today on April 5, 2011. This album featured Sabina Ddumba. Critics praised the album. One reviewer said, "I’m only worried about listening to as much K. Sparks as possible. I suggest you do the same." Another reviewer noted his "versatile flow and diverse taste in beats."

K. Sparks signed another deal with HiPNOTT Records for two albums. He recorded A Day in the Life and A Day in the Life Kurser Remix Suite. Both albums featured Sean Price. In 2013, he released Self-Portrait. His album Vintage Art came out in 2014, followed by The Blue Tape 2 in the same year. He then released Seasons Theme in 2016.

Manic Mondays Series

During the early days of music blogs (around 2008–2009), K. Sparks created a special series called Manic Mondays. Every Monday for an entire year, he released a brand new song online. He wanted to use original music from talented producers, not just beats from other mixtapes.

The series first started on a website called DJ Booth. But it quickly became very popular. Many other online music websites, like 2DOPEBOYZ, HipHopDX, okayplayer, and AllHipHop, started sharing his songs. Many producers contributed to the Manic Mondays series. These included Mark Henry, Kurser, Fero Navi, T-Mos, and others. At the end of the 52-week series, he released a song called 10 Minutes. In this song, he rapped for ten minutes over three different beats. The Manic Mondays series had over 525,000 digital downloads in total.

Ghostwriting for Others

In 2012, a music agent discovered K. Sparks. He was hired to create original music for movies, commercials, and TV shows. He continued to build his own music collection at the same time. When asked about the artists he wrote for, he explained that he couldn't share names due to contracts.

However, he did talk about his approach. He said it's like writing a movie script. He tries to make each song sound like the artist's own voice. K. Sparks prefers to work quietly behind the scenes. He said, "Some people have to be in the forefront, but that's not my style." This way of working allows him to keep ownership of his music. When people hear his songs in commercials for brands like LeBron James or Forever 21, it helps spread his message. He continues to work with artists, movie directors, and big brands like Monster Energy and Powerade.

Trendy and Black Cassette

On October 1, 2016, K. Sparks released a song called #TRENDY. In this song, he talked about important social issues in the United States. He discussed acts of violence that had happened, using his music to create positive discussions and change. The song was noticed by many online news outlets.

On January 1, 2017, K. Sparks released a short album (EP) called Black Cassette. It had three songs and was produced by Kurser from Paris. This EP also received a lot of praise from critics. The second song on Black Cassette, called "Level Up (Street Fam)", had lyrics directed at an unknown musician. K. Sparks explained that he wrote those lyrics for an artist he used to write hooks for. He chose not to name the artist.

Urban Couture Album

On June 15, 2015, K. Sparks started working on his album Urban Couture with producer Es-K. The first song from the album, Flipside, was released on August 6, 2017. The full album was released on October 15, 2017. K. Sparks wrote most of the songs and helped with some of the music production. Es-K handled most of the production.

The song Flipside talks about the good and bad choices in life. It reminds us to always keep things in perspective. This album took two years to finish. This is because it included live music played by musicians from different places. The album mixes sounds from Jazz, Neo soul, and Hip hop.

Urban Couture Track-List

• Flipside
• Blue Notalgia (feat. Stephanie Heaghney)
• Pen Griffey
• Strip 4 Me
• Da Homie E
• Make America Fake Again (feat. Nation)
• Feeling' Away
• Urban Couture
• Greatness Is Complicated/U Say (feat. Amelia Wilcox)
• June (Interlude)
• Happily Never After
• Summer in September (feat. Stephanie Heaghney)
• Sunken Place/Juneteenth

Note to Self Album

K. Sparks and French producer Kurser worked together to release their album Note to Self in 2018. The first song from the album, Questions, came out on August 4, 2018. Kurser produced the entire album. K. Sparks wrote all the songs, including the parts sung by other artists.

The album received great reviews. One music website gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars. The reviewer said that K. Sparks is good at showing real life in his raps. They mentioned the song Side Effects, where he raps, "I'm just conversating about' my life, I don't make rap." The simple guitar music and whistling in the song create a perfect background for his thoughtful raps. The reviewer felt that listening to Note to Self is like watching a great basketball game. They said, "Every line from Sparks is like Curry and Harden, he misses nothing." The album combines old-school and new-school styles.

Note to Self Track-List

• Say Less
• April in Paris (feat. Leslie Carron)
• Systematic
• Standoffish
• Strip 4 Me
• Side Effects
• Questions
• Autumn in New York
• Already Gone
• Close 2 Me
• Make Believe
• Moonlight Drive
• Addicted To Self
• Journal Entry 14 (Interlude)
• Note To Self
• G.O.M.F.
• Less Is More

Collaborations

The Temptations

K. Sparks worked with the famous group The Temptations on their 60th anniversary album, called 60. The song they worked on together was titled "Let It Reign" and was released on January 28, 2022. The album also featured the legendary artist Smokey Robinson. The album received a lot of praise from music critics.

Diagnosis Success Podcast

Kyle Hunter, also known as K. Sparks, started his own podcast called The Diagnosis Success Podcast. The first episode, "AYC (Assessing Your Circle)", was released on March 14, 2021. This podcast is listened to all over the world. You can find it on many streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. The podcast focuses on helping people improve themselves. It gives tools to help individuals succeed in their personal lives and in business.

Discography

K. Sparks has released many albums and mixtapes throughout his career. Here are some of his studio albums:

Studio albums

• The Future Problem Vol 2 (2006)
• The Future Problem Vol 3 (2006)
• The Blue Tape (2008)
• Hip Hop 101 (2008)
• Definition (2008)
• The Red Tape (2009)
• Queens vs Brooklyn (2009)
• Super Senior (2009)
• Soul Food (2009)
• The Trilogy Chapter 1 (2010)
• The Trilogy Chapter 2 (2010)
• The Trilogy Chapter 3 (2010)
• Tomorrow Today (2011)
• Positive Over Negative (2011)
• A Day in the Life (2011)
• A Day in the Life Kurser Remix Suite (2011)
• September Lounge (2012)
• Read Between The Lines (2012)
• Self-Portrait (2013)
• Vintage Art (2014)
• The Blue Tape 2 (2014)
• Seasons Theme (2016)
• The Black Cassette (2017)
• Gold (2017)
• Urban Couture (2017)
• Note to Self (2018)

K. Sparks has also released many mixtapes and appeared on other artists' projects.