Posts with the: informer tag.

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After The Snow Falls

Source: Wes Smiderle, www.ottawacitizen.com

After three albums, one seven-year-old hit single, a stint in jail and a new daughter, Snow is eager to embark on a comeback.

The 31-year-old singer is promoting his fourth CD, Mind on the Moon, released earlier this month. Besides being his first new album in more than three years, the disc is also Snow’s debut effort with the EMI-Virgin label.

The new material showcases a noticeably lighter style presented by what is essentially a brand new Snow.

”This is my second chance,” says the singer, who developed his brand of reggae patter while growing up in the ”projects” of North York. ”Everything’s coming together … I’m in positive mode now.”

Although he insists he never considered himself a rapper, Snow established a reputation in the early ’90s for his rapid-fire, gangster-style performance. His first and only major hit was 1993’s Informer, a rap tune delivered in a reggae- style Jamaican patois.

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Snow Alert

Source: Mike Ross, jam.canoe.ca

Snow has never understood the ‘white rapper’ label he’s worn all these years. ‘I’ve never been a rapper,’ he says. ‘Eminem’s a rapper. I’m on the borderline. I’m not a reggae artist or a pop artist or a hip-hop artist. It’s just everything mixed.’

If there’s still any doubt, it should be banished with the release of Mind on the Moon. Snow is now a singer all the way. While there are traces of his reggae-rapping style, called ‘sing-J,’ he has a surprisingly high and airy singing voice, well suited to the album’s light pop sheen, marked mainly by (real) acoustic guitars. The artist known as Darrin O’Brien – an Irishman who got into reggae growing up in the ‘projects’ of North York, Ont. – didn’t plan to be a pop singer, but fans have embraced his new sound.

Everybody Wants To Be Like You is Snow’s first big hit since 1993’s Informer. It might as well be a different artist. Snow’s music isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Yes, this will be another one of those “bad-boy-gone-good” stories.

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Canadian Rapper Signs With Japan’s JVC Records

Source: Larry LeBlanc, www.billboard.com

Some six years after his Jamaican dancehall-derived single “Informer” topped charts around the world, Canadian artist Snow is putting the finishing touches on a reggae-based pop/rock album that he hopes will return him to the charts.

Even though the follow-ups to that 1993 breakthrough fizzled, Snow is intent on revitalizing his career and wats to let his detractors know that his much-publicized liquor-soaked, hell-raising days are behind him.

“I love [music] and hope I can now have a career at it,” says the soft-spoken Snow, married and with a 3-year-old daughter. “I used to have only one foot in the [music] industry. Now, I want to put two feet in. Eleven months ago, I quit drinking. I’ve realized I have to stay out of trouble and focus on music.”

In March, Snow (real name Darrin O’Brien) signed a deal with JVC Records of Japan, which will release an as-yet-untitled 13-song album in that country and the rest of Asia. Snow is looking to license the album elsewhere.

Recorded at Snow’s home studio, the tracks were produced and written by Snow with longtime New York-based collaborator M.C. Shan and Nashville-based producer/engineer Glenn Rosenstein.

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Clear Skies After Legal Snow Storm

Source: Jim Slotek, www.torontosun.com

A day in court proved to be an uncharacteristically positive experience for Toronto reggae-dancehall rapper Snow last week.

After four years, a New York State appeals court finally threw out a $1.5 million jury verdict against the kid from the Scarborough projects who had a multi-platinum hit five years ago with the hard-to-decipher Informer.

‘It’s great it’s over,’ says Snow, a.k.a. Darrin O’Brien. ‘I’ve been trying to put it out of my mind, but it kept haunting me.’

The suit was launched by a former friend Marvin Prince, who argued that he’d helped develop Snow’s career. A jury awarded Prince the $1.5 mil in mid-’97, but the award was reduced as ‘excessive’ a few months later. Last week, the court went one step further, dismissing all liability.

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Snow Vindicated

Source: Betsy Powell, www.thestar.com

COURT OVERTURNS $1.5 MILLION JUDGMENT

Juno-Award winner and rap/reggae singer Snow is off the hook after a court in New York overturned a jury’s order to pay $1.5 million (U.S.) to his former friend and associate.

In 1994, DJ Marvin Prince sued Snow, who was born Darrin O’Brien, for breach of agreement and damages claiming he was never fully compensated for his role in turning O’Brien into a star.

Snow’s 1993 debut, 12 Inches Of Snow, sold three million copies worldwide and his smash hit ”Informer” spent seven weeks at Number 1.

His troubled life inspired much of the album, which was released as he finished serving a year in jail for assault.

In 1997, an 11-member jury awarded Prince $2.1 million, an approximation of the value of his services. At the time, Snow’s managers and record label were based in New York.

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