Released January 2, 1993 Label EastWest | Recorded 1992 Length 4:05 | |
Format CD single, CD maxi, 7" single12" maxi, Cassette | ||
"Informer" is a 1992 song by Canadian reggae musician Snow from his debut album 12 Inches of Snow. Produced by MC Shan, who also contributed a verse, the single was a chart-topping hit, spending seven consecutive weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his biggest hit in the United Kingdom, where it reached Number 2, behind two different number one singles. In 2007, the song was ranked Number 84 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s. Conversely, the song was included in Pitchfork Media's 2010 list of "the seven worst U.S. Number 1 singles of the 90s".
Contents
History and content
In 1992, while on vacation in Queens, New York, Snow met MC Shan, and the pair produced a four-song demo. MC Shan then introduced Snow to producer–managers Steve Salem and David Eng, who signed him to their Motor Jam Records company, and licensed the music to East West Records. Shortly thereafter, Snow began serving an eight-month sentence in Toronto for assault. "Informer" began getting radio and MuchMusic airplay while he was incarcerated.
The song is based on a separate 1989 incident when Snow was charged with two counts of attempted murder. At the time, he was detained for a year in Toronto before the charges were reduced to aggravated assault, and he was eventually acquitted and freed.
In a 1999 interview, he referred to his criminal history as "a couple of bar fights."
Music video
Directed by George Seminara, the video shows Snow entering a jail cell. His producer and friend, M.C. Shan, is also featured in the video; he explains how he got into prison by not turning Informer. Shan is seen enjoying a sauna with a couple of women. There are bikini clad women throughout and Snow is accompanied by female dancers glossed in black and white. When first shown, the video had no subtitles, but they were added because few people could comprehend what Snow was saying. One of the dancers is Mona Scott, who would later go into music management, starting Violator Management. She would go on to become owner of Monami Entertainment.
Awards and recognition
"Informer" won a Juno Award for Best Reggae Recording in 1994.
TV parody
Many reggae purists viewed the song, along with the works of Ini Kamoze, Diana King, Shaggy and Shabba Ranks, as another example of "watered down" commercial reggae that rose to international popularity in the 1990s. The sketch comedy show In Living Color, in a mock video featuring Jim Carrey as Snow, famously parodied the criticisms of reggae purists. Throughout the video, Carrey flees from angry Jamaican rastafarians determined to reclaim the purity of reggae from commercialism.
German version ("Ich bin der Farmer")
“Ich bin der Farmer” is the official 1993 German language cover version of "Informer". The song was performed by German rapper Bozo Der Boss and written by songwriter/musician Bruce Hammond Earlam.