Posts with the: murder love tag.

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Canada’s Snow Storms Onto The Reggae Scene

Source: Jennie Punter, www.thestar.com

The idea of a white guy from Canada named Snow singing reggae raised plenty of eyebrows when “Informer” came out in 1993.

Especially since the rise and fall of rapper – some would say novelty act – Vanilla Ice was still fresh in people’s minds.

But once most ears heard the Toronto dancehall reggae artist’s rapid-fire delivery (the video for “Informer” had subtitles) and smooth singing, there was no denying the music came from a real place.

His brushes with the law and general tough times in the housing project where he used to live in Toronto added to his mystique.

Otherwise known as Darrin O’Brien, Snow, 27, has made plenty of trips to Jamaica since dropping his multi-platinum single, “Informer” and his triple platinum (300,000 copies) debut album, 12 Inches Of Snow.

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Snow Finally Chills Out

Source: Blair S. Watson, www.calgarysun.com

Apparently Snow has stopped stormin’. The Toronto-based rapper is best known for his chart-topping 1993 hit, Informer, and his reputation as violent-tempered lawbreaker. Now 27 and the father of a two-year-old daughter, Snow says his wild ways are a thing of the past.

‘I have been out of trouble and all that kind of stuff. I just think about goodness now,’ Snow says over the telephone. ‘I’ve grown up a lot more. I’m more my dad now. I’m thinkin’: Move out and get a white picket fence, but still live in Toronto. I look at life different now. When you have a little daughter, you’re mostly living it for her.’

Indeed, Snow — whose real name is Darrin O’Brien — named his third and latest album, Justuss, after his daughter. This is a pivotal album for Snow: His second album, Murder Love, sold considerably less than his 1.3-million-selling debut, 12 Inches of Snow. He needs to show he’s not a one-hit wonder. Not that he’s upset some shine has rubbed off of his once-rising star.

‘I’m not up on all that fame and glory,’ he says. ‘I don’t hang around and go to all them parties and stuff. I still have the same old friends, still live in Toronto. I’m the same old person.’

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Rapper Flexes Musical Muscles On Album

Source: Elena Ouman, www.jsonline.com

Hot on the heels of his 1993 No.1 single “Informer,” Canadian reggae rapper Snow’s EastWest album debut, “12 Inches Of Snow,” blew up like the famous blizzard of 100 years earlier, peaking at No.5 on the Billboard 200.

“Murder Love,” Snow’s 1994 sophomore release, was less successful but yielded the “Anything For You” all-star remix, a grass-roots smash that still raises roars of dance floor approval. It also further established the white artist “from foreign” as a figure of respect on the Jamaican music scene.

Snow’s third album, “Justuss,” due stateside Jan.14 from Elektra, including the “Anything” remix, along with 11 other tracks that testify to the artist’s matured power and vitality.

“This LP is the best one,” says the 27-year-old Snow (born Darrin O’Brien). “The second was pressure, and this was more fun. (Producers) Tony Kelly and Laurie (Bogin) brought out more of my creativity and different styles.”

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White On Black : The Rap On Rap

Source: Elizabeth Renzetti, www.theglobeandmail.com

The controversy over “voice appropriation” – one culture or race telling the stories of another – is most heated in the field of literature, but popular music is where appropriation often becomes the equivalent of a brazen daylight heist.

From jazz to blues to reggae and rock ‘n’ roll, white folks have long been borrowing and adapting and making piles of money out of music that black folks originated. Keith Richards cheerfully admits he lifted his licks from Chuck Berry; others have not been as gracious.

The trend spread to hip hop, a genre encompassing rap, funk and dance music that began in the inner cities of Los Angeles and New York in the late seventies. White boys began scratching vinyl and rapping, with results ranging from commercially successful and listenable (Beastie Boys) to mercifully forgotten (Vanilla Ice).

Most trends, especially those carried on the airwaves, don’t stop at the border and this one is no different: In Canada, too, you can find hip hop and Jamaican dancehall music – rapidly chanted lyrics over a swaying beat – in the least likely places.

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Rapper Prefers Life On Charts To Stretches Behind Bars

Source: Neil Davidson, www.ottawacitizen.com

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.

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