As co-founder of the record label Generation Now, Don Cannon has been in the studio with some of today’s biggest rappers such as Jack Harlow and Lil Uzi Vert, and is amplifying future voices such as Luh Tyler, Carvena, Kai Ca$h, and many more. With technology forever changing, the way artists can experience music is evolving, and Dolby Atmos is the perfect audio system to use today and beyond.
Cannon spoke with rolling out about Dolby Atmos, the importance of producers telling their stories and gave advice to other producers.
How does Dolby Atmos change the future of music?
I have always been a forward thinker, even when I was deejaying on vinyl and I went to Serato. I was laughed at for getting off Serato. It was a mini disc thing; then it was a CD thing. We were coming out of mixtapes on CDs, we went to streaming, and then it was like, “We don’t know about streaming.” So, as we move forward, it’s just educating people more about Dolby. Growing up ever since Total Recall, I don’t know if people remember that movie, but I always wanted to see FaceTime since they had it. I wanted 3D glasses to see my favorite movies and things jump out at me. That’s [how] I look at Dolby Atmos. It’s like the music hugging you, the sounds coming out and jumping at you. You’re hearing things; it’s escapism. It’s something where I feel like you could hear music in different ways.
Why should producers tell their stories through music?
It’s awesome because there are some times when artists may not get the beat. I’m telling them that this is a smash and they might not get it, but if they’re stepping in the middle of this room, they’re like, “Oh, I get it. I’m hearing the bells.” We heard the story earlier about OutKast’s “Player’s Ball,” which was supposed to be on a Christmas album. I never knew that, and now that I’m figuring that out, I’m like, that’s why the jingle bells was in it. There are certain things that you might catch moving forward with the music as a producer, even enlightening me because now when I’m creating the beat, I’m starting to say, “Let me put a couple of elements in there where I know I can move around in different places to give people the full experience.” That’s helped me a lot when the process of music is moving into the future.
What are tips you would give producers who are looking to make a name for themselves?
The first thing I will say is to keep your mind open to technology and where we’re going. It’s always good things involved. I love the fact that I can STEM out things now and I’m able to move them around. Just get into the technology of it. Have your hammer, your nails, and your drill. Always have a broom for cleanup.
We started this trend in the past decade of the rapper that can sing now. They can make their own beats, they can mix, and they record on their own. I feel like we need to do that as producers, so it’s like a producer that can make the beats, they can mix, they can also mix in Dolby Atmos, and they also deliver the story. I think that’s what I’m getting across to the young folks as I’m talking every day.
