AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Snow

Artist:Snow f/MC Shan

Song:Informer

Album:12 Inches of Snow

The 1992 single Informer topped the charts for seven weeks. It was the only big hit for Canadian rapper Darrin "Snow" O'Brien. He had one other chart single so technically he's not a one hit wonder. He's more of a one album wonder as subsequent albums flopped. He was born Oct. 30, 1969 in Toronto and he grew up in the Toronto suburb of North York. O'Brien fell into an Irish-Canadian group trying to be gangsters. He dropped out of school and couldn't read. He grew up listening to rock. But with Jamaicans moving into the area, he became adept at speaking with the Patois dialect. After spending time in jail for assault, Jamaican born DJ Marvin Prince saw O'Brien DJing at a party and they became friends. They practiced in Prince's basement and played parties with O'Brien doing vocals and Prince playing records. O'Brien was in jail in 1988 for an assault charge. He was acquitted but he wrote Informer while in jail. That's what the assault charge was about. O'Brien didn't do it but he wouldn't say who did. In 1991, O'Brien went to New York to audition for rapper Shawn "MC Shan" Moltke. Moltke owned his own label with Warner Bros. distribution. Moltke introduced O'Brien to producers David Eng and Steve Salem and he signed with their Motorjam label with Elektra distribution. They had to record the album 12 Inches of Snow quickly as O'Brien had to return to Canada and report to prison. He was convicted of assault. He was in prison when the album was released. The album was produced by Moltke along with Edmond Leary and John Ficarotta. Ficarotta had previously produced Kid 'n' Play. Informer topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks, O'Brien's second single Girl I've Been Hurt reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Platinum. It's available as a budget CD. Prince and Leary were still part of O'Brien's live act. Prince sued O'Brien but they never had a contract. Leary feels he never was properly paid for his work on the album. O'Brien released two more albums for Elektra's EastWest label that went nowhere. He also recorded for Victor in Japan and Virgin in Canada. O'Brien still releases occasional single. And he hit the jackpot all over again when the 2019 Daddy Yankee single Con Calma was based on Informer and O'Brien appears on the record. Here's the video for Informer by Snow.