[EXCLUSIVE] Ithaca Native Anthony Kannon Interview

[Support Those That Support You]

1. What is your biggest achievement? Humbly speaking, I can’t narrow it down to one. I feel I played a pivotal part in unifying my area’s hip-hop scene. I contributed to the growth of a lot different artists; and watching them progress down their path is inspiring.

When I reflect; I think about some of the accolades I won. Some of the views I’ve compiled. The thing that I look back on the most, is a show that I conducted with another local artist-named Saint Kid. Completely local show, all with artists that are friends; I headlined. We packed the venue, and we finally got a glimpse at what full fledge support felt like from your own community.

2. Who is your biggest inspiration? My biggest human inspirations are my family, and my girlfriend. I have the best supporting cast that anybody could ever ask for; they push me to do better everyday. They inspire me to be the most successful person I could possibly be.

In terms of my music; life is the biggest inspiration. I draw from real experiences and events. Whenever I go through an intense emotion, an odd scenario, or a painful circumstance-I try to capture that feeling in a song. These are definitely my biggest inspirations.

3. Where do you see yourself in a year? Within a year, I want to expand my global footprint. I want to top my most streamed song (“Ghost”) which has 110K streams, and have completely turned music into a comfortable primary source of income. I just booked my first tour, which was temporarily cancelled due to COVID-19 scares; but I plan to have a couple different regional-tours booked throughout each year going forward. I see myself increasing the quantity (and quality) of live shows.

4. Where are you from? I am from Ithaca, NY; a college town located upstate. I’ve lived a lot of different places, but this is where I’ve been for most of my life.

5. How old are you? I just turned 22 in January.

6. Are you currently employed? I have a couple different jobs as of right now. I’m an intern at a youth advocacy program; I’m a mentor to a couple young kids and I also work at a liquor store.

7. Are you working on any projects? I have two projects in the works that I can talk about (for now). I won’t say the name of them, but I will tell you that I have written over 40 songs-and recorded over 20, specifically for these two.

All of the beats are produced by the same person, and it will all be mixed by one engineer. I believe they will be my most cohesive and sonically-balanced projects thus far.

8. Who are your top 3 greatest rappers, Dead or alive? I won’t go into who is the greatest, all of that is too objective. I will tell you some of my current personal favorites. First on my list will forever be Royce Da 5’9. That slot is taken ! In no order, it goes:

- Royce da 5’9
- Black Thought
- Benny the Butcher
- Freddie Gibbs
- Boldy James

These aren’t exactly my top 5, but it’s who is getting the most play from me. I love all of them!

9. What are you in this industry for? I started rapping as therapy. It was my outlet at a very young age. I naturally got better over time, and wanted to take it serious. It started as a passion, but it grew to much more. Now, I am in this industry because it’s my heart and soul. I wake up everyday it’s the first thing on my mind. I know this will be my life’s journey.

10. How long have you been making music for? I started writing raps at 7, when my mom first went to jail. I started song-making/recording in middle school. I wouldn’t say that I was particularly taking it “serious” until high-school. Probably 16-17, when I dropped my first project.

11. Whats your next move? My next move will be finding out a way to promote myself effectively through this quarantine period. I can’t be out and about, networking and showing my face everywhere. I have to be just as visible from my home. I have stockpiled so much music, and I think now is the time to let some of it go.

12. Are you working with any artists, locally? I have worked with an unbelievable amount of artists from my home town. Dozens and dozens. I have over 20 collaborations released on all platforms, 30+ if you include SoundCloud releases. Most of which being from artists in my area.

Shout out to Mr. McBean, my brother. Meech Booker, a future superstar in the making. Saint Kid, my young bull. DIM 136, a super talented collective of unique artists. There are females in my city making some noise! La Reina, Miss Sick07, Shay Bands. We even have OG’s who have been doing this since I was a kid; like Money Mars, Ave Mack, Gunpoets, Blane Bent. I’m leaving out so many, I could go on and on; This is just from my city. If I included surrounding areas, the list would be much deeper. Big love to all you guys. Keep pushing.

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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3CL51SkcQYRYOLS7iUn06L?si=3Cklnp-NS...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthonykannon/

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