Cannon
Brooklyn based artist Cannon combines upbeat melodies with his distinct pop vocals to create a truly original sound. The South Carolina native began his music journey at the age of 6, where he wrote and played his first songs. Fast forward to 2020, and the artist boasts nearly 4 million plays on Spotify. His debut, 2019 single “Water Glass,” earned the artist over 2 million streams alone. The hit was followed by a string of five other singles including “These Walls,” which was featured on some of Spotify’s top curated playlists. A recent graduate of Boston College, Cannon is now fully committed to a music industry that has certainly given him the green light. We recently spoke with him about his writing process, connection to music, and more!
How did you start making music?
I started writing and playing music at age 6 or 7. I told my dad I wanted to take guitar lessons, so I got a shitty Johnson strat [Stratocaster] and took lessons at the local music shop in Greenville, where I'm from. I loved it. I used to write letters to Tom Petty asking him to "sponsor" my band at the time and send us music equipment so we could make it big. I never got a reply, haha. I guess I started actually making music in elementary school. My family got this iMac desktop and I discovered Garageband. Back then I would strictly use the Apple loops and make these terrible synth-pop beats. I rapped on one about Duke basketball in 5th grade (I was a huge Duke basketball fan). I still have that recording on my computer. I didn't always think I was going to pursue this as a career though. I thought I was gonna be a writer, like an author. I went to school to be an English major. But I never quit writing songs and I guess I got better, because friends I met at BC [Boston College] encouraged me to take it more seriously, so I did, and now I can't imagine doing anything else.
Your song “Water Glass” is your most successful. But, which is your favorite?
Probably "Broken Mirrors". It's just the closest to home. I name drop my cousin who passed away last summer and my grandfather who has also passed. That record is just about me and my family and figuring out who the fuck I was gonna be, which was hard for me. And I wrote that horn section with my mouth and that's how we originally recorded it, but then got someone to play live trumpet over it, which I thought was sick.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, which are you picking?
One song, sheesh. "The Less I Know the Better," I'll go with. Tame Impala.
Who’s working with you in a dream collab?
Rick Rubin, probably, or Kid Cudi. Or maybe a collab with Kid Cudi at the Shangri-la festival.
You recently graduated college. What was it like balancing school with your career?
That shit was really hard. I totally lost interest in school, and had to just coast through it so my mom wouldn't kill me for dropping out. Thankfully, I was an English major and writing comes pretty naturally to me, so I didn't have to study for any tests really, just bang out essays. I loved the community there though, and that's a big reason why I decided to pursue a career inherently of community and collaboration. If I had kicked my music into full gear at any point before when I did, I probably couldn't have made it to graduation.
Favorite non-music activity?
Reading. My family members used to always clown me for bringing the book I was reading with me wherever I went — Christmas dinner, the movies, anywhere. People should read more, I want to find a way to encourage reading at some point in my life.
Are there any future projects fans can look out for?
There was gonna be a debut mixtape this summer, but the coronavirus and the crucial situation in this country with racism and police brutality set that back. There are more important things to focus on for me right now, just getting better and learning. But this is an unprecedented time, and making and putting out meaningful music is more important than ever. Music is coming, soon.
