 Cannon, along with Joe Johnson and Ishmael Reed, began an independent publishing house that focused on multicultural literature in the 1970s called Reed, Cannon and Johnson.In 1973 he also collaborated with Reed to interview the first Black sci-fi writer, George S. Schuyler, for "Yardbird II", Reed's own publication.Cannon met his friend, artist David Hammons on a park bench in the 1970s.