Darrin Kenneth O'Brien (born October 30, 1968), known by his stage name Snow, is a Canadian reggae musician.

Following his parents' divorce, he was raised by his mother in the Allenbury Gardens public housing project where, he says, he was fascinated with the gangster lifestyle, fell in with a tough Irish-Canadian group and became involved in a cycle of fighting, drinking and stealing.

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.

[3] Upon Snow's release in January 1988, the Jamaican-born DJ Marvin Prince saw O'Brien deejaying at a party and the two became friends.

[2][6] In 1988, Snow was involved in an incident at a North York pub, in which two people were stabbed "in the lane"; he was accused, and was subsequently charged with two counts of attempted murder.

Shan, Eng, Salem, and Prince promoted it and, by the time Snow was released, the single "Informer" was a chart-topping hit.

12 Inches of Snow sold over 8 million copies worldwide, with the "Informer" single remaining number 1 on the American Billboard charts for seven consecutive weeks.

After he befriended Marvin Prince, the latter gave O'Brien the stage name "Snow"— a backronym meaning "Superb Notorious Outrageous Whiteboy".

Prince alleged that Eng and Salem provided "a draft of a multi-album production and recording agreement" to both Snow and himself.

Unable to understand the contract, Snow allegedly "sent a copy to his mother to get legal advice from her friend" and Prince "never saw the agreement again.

"[6] Moreover, Prince claimed to have entered an "oral agreement" with Snow implying that the two would share profits from the album "fifty-fifty".

Prince "admitted that these discussions were not concrete; the parties never organized a formal business plan, nor was plaintiff in New York to advance defendant's career.

Prince recalled playing Junior Reid's "Foreign Mind" over the phone, and Snow used the track's flute melody as the basis for "Informer".

Originally, Prince alleges, the final verse of "Informer" was written and performed by a second vocalist named "Little Red".

While not a commercial success in North America, the album featured Snow performing with reggae and dancehall musicians Ninjaman, Junior Reid, Half Pint, Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Dave Kelly, and Sly and Robbie.

[18] The "Anything for You" remix became a club favorite and, according to Billboard's Elena Oumano, made Snow a figure of respect on the Jamaican music scene.

[23][24] The success of Murder Love allowed Snow to tour Asia and collaborate with Thai rap artist Joey Boy.

Released in the United States and Canada in 1997, the single "If This World Were Mine" failed to chart but the video regularly appeared on The Box.

"[40] In summer 2014 while in Miami, Florida, Snow signed with Bugatti Music Entertainment and teamed up with Grammy-winning producers Cool & Dre, Kent Jones and Scott Storch and began recording again.

[43] On January 23, 2019, Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee released the reggaeton and dancehall song "Con Calma" featuring Snow, which has been described as a remake or reimagination of "Informer".

[46][47][48] On October 17, 2019, Snow and his wife Tara O'Brien attended the 5th Annual Latin American Music Awards in Hollywood, California at the Dolby Theatre.

Instead of hiding his "whiteness" and "Canadian-ness", Haines argues, Snow proudly boasts of his Irish heritage and pride in his family, the O'Briens, and traces his reggae roots to the diverse community of Allenbury.

While other artists, such as Snoop Dogg, don a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey because of its resemblance to cannabis, "in the video for his single "Anything for You", shot on location in Jamaica, the white Canadian reggae artist Snow is seen wearing the same jersey, perhaps in an attempt to proclaim his Canadian roots among the all-black cast of this video.

On June 24, 2010, Snow held a fundraiser called "ClosURE For Cancer" at Alley Catz Restaurant in Toronto during which they raised $15,000.

[59] In May 2016, Snow married model and actress Tara Elizabeth Singh at St. Anselm Catholic Church in Toronto.

CTV covered the ceremony, and local radio station KISS 92.5 interviewed the newlyweds on The Roz and Mocha Show on May 22, 2016.