Anthony Kannon Focuses on Social Justice and Police Reform in Latest release "Cartel"
In early October Ithaca native Anthony Kannon released his latest visuals to an otherwise unreleased track titled "Cartel". With the help of the highly talented Zakhi Schar, Anthony Kannon put together a very powerful, culturally relevant music video that has impressed its viewers. The video and track itself feature Kannon going in a direction that may seem a bit unfamiliar to casual fans of Anthony Kannon.
Kannon tackles some topics that are currently trending both on social media and within the real world. Opening with an image of Kannon holding up a sign with the words "I Can't Breath" written across it, the nature of the video is clear immediately.
In the next scene Kannon smokes a blunt watching images of a protest gone wrong. We cut into the track as Kannon raps "I ran up a bill for this, I almost got killed for this"over a Trump quote before getting into a subject matter that is a bit of a new realm for the young artist. Touching on the topics of police brutality and the struggle of being a black male in today's America is not something new to Anthony Kannon the person, but as an artist it's a bit of a new direction.
Kannon's most recent full length release "Blur" dropped in August of 2019. That project featured Kannon on his first official collaborative project. "Blur" also saw Kannon shift his style up a bit and give fans a new side of his music that they really enjoyed. He followed that release up in 2020 with a number of singles as well as an EP titled "Clean Slate" released over the summer that featured quality tracks but nothing quite like "Cartel".
The release of "Cartel" shows a more serious and calculated approach to Kannon's music and visuals. The ability to touch on important subject matter while continuing to produce quality music has added yet another element to the already very talented Anthony Kannon. He has announced that he will drop "Cartel" onto all streaming platforms once the track hits 5,000 streams and it's nearly hit Kannon's goal so expect the official release of "Cartel" to come in the coming weeks.
On the latest episode of The Cypher podcast Kannon hinted that this is just the start of a steady release schedule set to really kick into full gear soon. So keep an eye out for that! Stream the video for "Cartel" below and be sure to stay up to date with any upcoming Anthony Kannon releases by checking the Upstate Aesthetic website or social media!