Winter came early September of 1992 when a Canadian reggae artist made it 'Snow' - with the release of his single 'Informer' from Snow's debut album '12 Inches of Snow'. The single was released just before Snow went in to serve a one year jail term involving assault charges; by the time the singer/ dancehall artist was set free, the song was a chart topper around the world in several countries. Spending 7 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, won a Juno award for Best Reggae Recording in 1994 (Canadian version of the Grammy's); and is listed at #87 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's.
Watch the throwback video Snow - Informer, and details on his upcoming performance March 9th.
Darrin O'Brien's stage name Snow was given to him by Jamaican born DJ Marvin Prince who discovered Darrin and his talents at the age of 16 while he was living in Ajax, Ontario at the time, and was performing in a KISS cover band (yes, the rock band). The name Snow is a backronym for "Super Notorious Outageous Whiteboy" which was give to him by Marvin Prince. Prince took Snow to New York City and introduced him to MC Shan.
The track Informer was produced by MC Shan out of Queensbridge, NY. MC Shan is cousins with famed hip hop producer Marley Marl and was a member of the Juice Crew All-Stars in the late 1980's. Snow's debut album '12 Inches of Snow' was produced by Marvin Prince and MC Shan while Snow was imprisoned for a year on assault charges.
Say what you want, but this song was BIG at the time, and was recorded twice in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best selling reggae single in U.S., as well as highest charting reggae single in history.
Snow is still doing his thing with an upcoming performance schedule this weekend March 9th, 2013 at Luxy just north of Toronto. Snow (Darrin O'Brien) also gives back to the youth each year in Allenbury Gardens located central-east Toronto, a community housing project area where he grew up. You can check out the flyer for Snow's upcoming performance at Luxy in T-Dot Event Listings section.
Snow - Informer
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