Somehow it seems appropriate that Snow’s favorite hockey player is Bob Probert.

The Canadian rapper and Chicago Blackhawks tough guy have a lot in common: run-ins with the law, alcohol problems and subsequent immigration headaches.

Probert is struggling to revive his career. Snow is determined to keep his on track, starting this week with the release of his second album, Murder Love.

His 1993 debut, 12 Inches of Snow, was a million-seller highlighted by the huge hit Informer.

It hasn’t always been easy for the 25-year-old Toronto native, who uses the liner notes on Murder Love to thank his lawyer and others “for keeping me out of jail.”

And Snow says he hopes to do the same for others, figuring kids may listen to him because he’s been there.

“It’s good to hear from somebody who’s been in it,” Snow explains. “My uncle Paddy’s done 23 years (in jail), so he tells me ‘Do this, do this, you’ve got the world ahead of this, don’t drink, don’t do this.’

“And I can look up at him and say ‘yeah,’ because he’s been there.”

In fact, uncle and nephew spent time together in Toronto’s Metro East Detention Centre in 1989.

Snow was in court again recently, this time pleading guilty to threatening staff at a Toronto hotel. He dismisses it as a shouting match that got out of hand. The judge disagreed, saying “You’re no angel,” and fined him $500.

In person, Snow comes across as a likeable man-child who walks with an unconscious swagger, his jeans hanging fashionably loose below his butt.

There seems little guile. Ask him about some of the favorite places he’s visited since becoming a recording star and he replies:

“Europe is all right, but it’s kind of too old for me, too much history for me. I don’t like thinking too much. But I like Caribbean places. And I like Victoria, that was one of my favorites. And B.C., I like B.C.”

The United States is temporarily off-limits because of his criminal record, a state of affairs his lawyer is appealing.

Snow, born Darrin O’Brien, emerged from jail two years ago and promptly became a star. He had just served eight months for assault causing bodily harm, a sentence he received one day after signing his record deal.

His distinctive Jamaican-style, rapid-fire rapping on the song Informer topped the U.S. charts for seven weeks. It was so big Billboard ranked it No. 22 on its list of top hits since 1958.

Snow wrote the song during another stint in jail, that time a 12-month stretch awaiting trial on a pair of attempted murder charges, which were later dropped.

Informer allowed him to move his mother and siblings out of a housing project. “They can’t tell them to turn down the music no more, can’t shut the lights off and the water,” he says proudly.

Snow, a Grade 8 dropout, bought himself a condo and marvelled at what was happening to him: “They’re sending me a cheque for how much? It’s not $50. I’m in hotels and they’re paying for it. Before, like I’d have to sneak . . .”

People who know Snow only through Informer may be surprised by Murder Love, recorded mostly in Jamaica where the white rapper is somewhat of a celebrity. Like his debut, this album showcases a variety for styles from rap to funk and soul.

“I don’t want to make all my songs sound the same,” he explains.

“I can come up with 100 Informers, but I don’t want to. I come up with something different.”