When DJ Premier speaks, people have a tendency to listen. So when he hailed Atlanta-based production giant [giant being used both figuratively and literally] Don Cannon as one of the hottest out right now, this Aphilliate is obviously doing something right.

The track that catapulted him to hot producer status was "Go Crazy" by the hometown trapster Young Jeezy. Yet there is a lot more to come from this progressive forward thinker who cites music as his reason for existence. OutKast's "Da Art of Storytellin' Part 4" and Freeway's "Walk Witt Me" have come more recently, only reminding us of the greatness that the Philadelphia-born deejay/producer is capable of.

Shining a light on the holes rappers dig, the importance of backing up and great expectations this nouveau production mastermind gets into it with HipHopDX.

HipHopDX: How did you get into what you were doing?
Don Cannon: I think it just came to me naturally. I never just started doing it; I was doing this from when I was five years old, so it is just kind of in you.

DX: What exactly were you doing from five years old?
DC: Well I was deejaying, and I have played with instruments all my life. Playing keyboards, drums and rapping even since I was real young.

DX: Do you think it’s important for a producer to keep moving ahead to have this knowledge of all aspects of music and not just sitting in a studio behind a mixing board?
DC: If you want to become a great producer, then yes, get as much knowledge of instruments, the history, like who did what record, the great records. Please make sure you know all that knowledge if you want to stay in this game. If you don’t, you don’t have to learn nothing as you can be a fly by night and make a whole bunch of money. If you are trying to make history, learn the history not just when it comes to Hip Hop, but in general.

DX: You came into the game with the other Aphilliates, Drama and Sense who you went to school with. How critical was having that foundation for you?
DC: Man that was really important, as each of us was individuals at the time but we brought all the projects together to make things bigger. You know you are walking around with people who have whatever you need and I had whatever they needed. It helps to make you move further when you have the help of your peers.

DX: Did you all know each other when you were in Philly?
DC: I kind of knew about Drama in Philly, as he was already doing stuff and he had a couple of people who went to his high school that were friends with me and the same with me. I never met him though until I got down here though, and the same with Sense. He grew up with people that I grew up, with but we never bumped shoulders until we came down to Atlanta. It comes with timing and I think it was just meant to be that we would all meet up down here.

DX: Taking it back to those days, does music have the same effect on you now as it did back then?
DC: Oh yes definitely. I think the most important thing to me now is music. I don’t need anything else but music to be honest as that is all I care about.

DX: Your resume is progressing and the beats are getting hotter. What projects are you involved with right now?
DC: Right now I am just trying to take it to the next level. I am blessed as I am just a young Jordan in the game or a young LeBron, as every song I have done on an album has been a platinum or more record, and I am blessed with that [Editor's note: Don Cannon recently worked on Freeway's Free At Last, which did not achieve a plaque as of yet]. I am continuing to work with both little and big artists, as even the little artists can have big records. I just did two records with Ludacris which I am excited about. I was working with The Game and Nas. There are a couple of albums I am really excited about. Also I am working with a couple of young cats and that is what I am excited about and that is what keeps me going.

DX: The fact that you are associated with albums and songs that have sold millions, having achieved that, does it make you nervous in any way as that is what people may expect from you?
DC: It doesn’t bother me as I work with individuals that just inspire me to keep going. You know some people might get carried away, "You’re working with this person, that person, Jay-Z is on your track,” where as I just keep it regular. Jay-Z is my favorite rapper of all times, but to me, it is just another notch on the belt. It isn’t any pressure for me as to me music is an art. Whether you splash it, like when you draw, you can say splashing and painting on a wall is art, the same with the music. It is all about how a person views it. You know some people draw and then some people might throw a bugger on the wall [laughs] but it is art to them. It is art to me; if a person comes to me, there is no pressure. They will either need this beat or not, I am doing me. I don’t want to hear no conversation about, "I want a go crazy beat," or "I want a Cannon beat," or "I want a beat like you did for Fabolous," I am just doing music. There is no real pressure for me as it is up to the artist to take it to the next level and I am just happy to be working with artists that are able to take it to the next level. Continued on page 2 »