It Saved My Life: How Snow’s Informer Helped Him Escape a Life of Crime

Source: Vivian Tabar & Melody Lau, www.cbcmusic.ca

“Informer” is one of Canada’s most recognizable songs of the ’90s. Recorded by Toronto reggae artist Snow, the track became a No. 1 hit in the U.S., Australia, Denmark and many other countries.

It was a divisive song and drew criticism for its “incomprehensible” lyrics, but whether you loved it or hated it, Snow and his smash hit are part of our country’s musical history. It also served as a positive turning point in the artist’s life, helping him find an escape from a life of crime.

Crime itself is what first inspired “Informer,” actually. While some laughed off the song’s lyrics, Snow was actually channeling his frustrations with the criminal justice system into lyrics like: “Tective man a say, say daddy me Snow me stab someone down.” (Snow says he never stabbed anyone during this incident.)

Watch below as Snow looks back at the success of “Informer” and breaks down the real meaning behind the song.

Lost And Found

Source: www.vibe.com

SnowFor 34-year old Torontonian Darrin O’Brien, better known as Snow, maintaining success stateside has been tricky. His ’93 hit “Informer” scorched up the U.S. singles charts, but he’s gotten the cold shoulder ever since. With a new album dropping this spring, Snow sat down with us to speak on drinking, deportation, and his unexpected comeback album.

Being a white kid in reggae, you must’ve had lots of skeptics?

Snow: At first, there was a lot of racial stuff. Especially when Vanilla Ice came out, because he was claiming that he got stabbed. Then when i came out and said the real stuff, like, i’ve done prison time, people were like, “Ugh!” But now, thanks to people like Eminem breaking down the walls, i think it’s much better.

Word is you were banned from the States for a minute. What was that about?

Snow: It was probably the two attempted murder charges or the aggravated assault charge. In ’94, they threw me out, and two years ago, they let me back in. I haven’t been charged in seven years. Drinking was my problem. I would get angry and get into fights.

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Where Are They Now?

Source: www.qthemusic.com

SnowFew singers can claim to have watched their careers take off while serving an eight-month jail sentence for attacking a man with a crowbar, but that`s where Toronto-born toaster Darrin ‘Snow’ O`Brien found himself on the eve of the release of his debut single Informer.

O`Brien was out in time to see the song climb to Number 2 in the UK in March 1993, but his criminal record put the brakes on his career, and he sank back into obscurity.

But what`s he up to these days? And has he managed to keep his nose clean?

Snow: ‘People thought it was strange that a white guy was singing reggae, but i grew up in a housing project that was half Irish and half Jamaican. I just filled my brain with it, and suddenly i was doing it myself. In 1989, i went to jail for a year for attempted murder.’ (He denied stabbing a man outside a pub.)

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Snow Aiming To Fly Again

Source: Betsy Powell, www.thestar.com

Four years ago Snow took the world’s music charts by storm with his tongue-twisting, rapid-fire rap hit Informer from his debut album, 12 Inches of Snow.

Snow’s story — his real name is Darrin O’Brien — spread quickly. The young thug, who had grown up in a Toronto housing project, had written the ditty from behind bars about the informer who ratted him out for a crime he denied committing.

O’Brien beat the rap — attempted murder charges were dropped — and emerged an international star after recording the prison-penned hit. If it sounds right out of a movie, check local listings. Well, not quite yet. Author George Seminara, who directed the Informer video, has written a screenplay about O’Brien’s life and apparently there’s high-level interest at Miramax, a production and distribution company owned by Disney.

‘I want that guy from Romeo and Juliet,’ says O’Brien, naming the young actor Leonardo DiCaprio as his No. 1 pick to play himself. Seminara would appear the man for the job. He’s made a name for himself chronicling the criminal deeds of the rich and famous. His most recent book is called Celebrity Mug Shots: Celebrities Under Arrest. O’Brien says the script, at least at this stage, is based on his life on the streets in his pre-Snow days.

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This Reggae Champ Is White And From Toronto – But No Snow Job

Source: Greg Barr, www.ottawacitizen.com, www.montrealgazette.com

At first, Steve Salem suspected it was a snow job.

How could some guy from Toronto – and a white guy at that – authentically reproduce the rapid-fire patois of Jamaican dancehall music, let alone sell a ton of records?

That question ran through Salem’s mind when producer MC Shan brought Snow to a New York studio for an audition. With DJ Marvin Prince laying down a beat track, Snow grabbed the microphone and chilled the room with Uhh in You.

Salem, co-owner of Motor Jam Records, went from skeptic to believer in three minutes and 46 seconds.

That’s the length of time listed on the CD jacket for Uhh in You, one of 14 tracks on 12 Inches of Snow, Snow’s debut disc released last December. Twelve Inches has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, based mainly on the strength of one single, Informer.

“Sure I was skeptical,” Salem said this week from his New York office. “Well, you know what it’s like. There’s always somebody trying to get a record deal.”

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