06-01-2016, 01:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-01-2016, 01:39 PM by CosmykTheDolfyn.)
Random early 90s one hit trivia about Darrin "Snow" O'Brien.
He only had one large hit, the reggae styled "Informer". Based on his singing voice and what he actually looked like, he received giant amounts of criticism. Mainly because he sang like a Jamaican with a heavy accent, but was actually a nerdy looking guy from Toronto. I mean, just watch the juxtaposition:
In fact, even Jim Carrey made a parody song called "Imposter" that opens with the lines "Imposter, I'm just a middle class white guy from Toronto despite how I sound".
It is very true that he was white and from Toronto, but could you ever say he was middle class? Why did he sing like he wasn't?
First off, he didn't have a middle class background, growing up impoverished in a public housing program where he saw drugs and violence often. It was here that he met his best friend who also helped record his first album, DJ Marvin Prince. Who is from... Jamaica. This close friendship over years is what allowed him to really nail the whole reggae sound as close as he did. Which may still be offensive in a way I guess, but not exactly a middle class background. Certainly not reggae straight from Jamaica though either.
A look at the lyrics of the song also shows a much scarier side to the singer Snow. The lyrics are about getting ratted out and being thrown in jail. Those lyrics came from his own personal experience. In 1989, Snow stabbed two other associates with a knife and nearly got away with it, but was ratted out in the end. (In later interviews, Snow has basically stated the incident was a bar fight gone out of control. But come on, he stabbed people.)
Upon his release, he recorded his first album in 1992, and it was released in 1993. However, after the release he didn't follow the album up with a tour, despite the international success of "Informer" as a single.
This was because the album was released while he was in jail for a second time over separate assault charges than the 1989 incident. Informer broke onto the charts in the middle of that sentence. So, he couldn't tour or really try to follow up to the success. It's hard to do that behind prison bars, and he actually refused to believe he had a hit single when the guards at the prison informed him of his being at #1 on the charts. Even after release, he couldn't tour due to probation. In the end, he did release more albums, but never followed up with another big single. And while people often compared him to Vanilla Ice, I would think it's safe to say he probably had waaaaaay more street cred. In fact, with the multiple jail stints, the nerdy looking dude probably has more street cred than a large portion of today's "hardcore" singers/rappers.
He only had one large hit, the reggae styled "Informer". Based on his singing voice and what he actually looked like, he received giant amounts of criticism. Mainly because he sang like a Jamaican with a heavy accent, but was actually a nerdy looking guy from Toronto. I mean, just watch the juxtaposition:
In fact, even Jim Carrey made a parody song called "Imposter" that opens with the lines "Imposter, I'm just a middle class white guy from Toronto despite how I sound".
It is very true that he was white and from Toronto, but could you ever say he was middle class? Why did he sing like he wasn't?
First off, he didn't have a middle class background, growing up impoverished in a public housing program where he saw drugs and violence often. It was here that he met his best friend who also helped record his first album, DJ Marvin Prince. Who is from... Jamaica. This close friendship over years is what allowed him to really nail the whole reggae sound as close as he did. Which may still be offensive in a way I guess, but not exactly a middle class background. Certainly not reggae straight from Jamaica though either.
A look at the lyrics of the song also shows a much scarier side to the singer Snow. The lyrics are about getting ratted out and being thrown in jail. Those lyrics came from his own personal experience. In 1989, Snow stabbed two other associates with a knife and nearly got away with it, but was ratted out in the end. (In later interviews, Snow has basically stated the incident was a bar fight gone out of control. But come on, he stabbed people.)
Upon his release, he recorded his first album in 1992, and it was released in 1993. However, after the release he didn't follow the album up with a tour, despite the international success of "Informer" as a single.
This was because the album was released while he was in jail for a second time over separate assault charges than the 1989 incident. Informer broke onto the charts in the middle of that sentence. So, he couldn't tour or really try to follow up to the success. It's hard to do that behind prison bars, and he actually refused to believe he had a hit single when the guards at the prison informed him of his being at #1 on the charts. Even after release, he couldn't tour due to probation. In the end, he did release more albums, but never followed up with another big single. And while people often compared him to Vanilla Ice, I would think it's safe to say he probably had waaaaaay more street cred. In fact, with the multiple jail stints, the nerdy looking dude probably has more street cred than a large portion of today's "hardcore" singers/rappers.