Darrin Kenneth O'Brien, professionally known as Snow, is a Canadian reggae musician, rapper, and singer born on October 30, 1969.
Growing up in North York, Ontario, he was one of four children born to an Irish-Canadian cabdriver and a homemaker. After his parents' divorce, he was raised by his mother in the Allenbury Gardens public housing project, where he became fascinated with the gangster lifestyle, fell in with a tough Irish-Canadian group, and engaged in a cycle of fighting, drinking, and stealing.
Despite never learning to read properly and dropping out of school in the 9th grade, Snow developed a strong interest in rock music, which later shifted to reggae music after an influx of Jamaican immigrants to the neighborhood in 1983. He became adept at using the Jamaican dialect, or Jamaican Patois, and blended dancehall and reggae with rock and pop music to develop his unique style.
In 1987, Snow served eight months of a one-year sentence after pleading guilty to beating a person with a crowbar during a bar brawl. After his release in January 1988, he became friends with Jamaican-born DJ Marvin Prince, who helped him refine his reggae singing and use of the Jamaican dialect, and claimed to have come up with the name 'Snow'.
The two practiced in Prince's basement, played parties, and passed around tapes, but were unable to get Snow signed due to his being white. In 1988, Snow was involved in an incident at a North York pub, in which two people were stabbed, and he was accused of attempted murder. He served eight months in jail before being acquitted on both counts.
While in jail, Snow went to school and wrote music, which he performed for fellow inmates. One of these songs was called "Informer". After his release, he went to New York, where he met rap star M.C. Shan and music producers David Eng and Steve Salem, signing a contract to record on their Motorjam/Elektra record label.
The debut album 12 Inches of Snow was recorded quickly, as Snow had to return to Canada and report to prison.
