In defense of Snow.

Posted by jrm4 on Sep 1, 2010 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

“Haha, what is he saying in that song? It’s terrible! White guys can’t do that!”

Sigh.

Anyone who actually listens to dancehall/reggae knows exactly what the song is about. It’s essentially a “Stop snitching” song; Jamaican police are known for their heavy reliance on police informants.

Now, let’s talk about the criticism. The people who dis him the most are outsiders; people who generally don’t have any claim to the genre. You have a bunch of outsiders (largely white) ragging on a white guy for not being black/Jamaican enough, as if those outsiders should get a say in it. A little obnoxious, I’d say.

In contrast, there was generally a lot of collaboration and respect from other actual dancehall/reggae artists and fans. Unlike, say Vanilla Ice, Snow’s got some pretty decent songs and a good amount of street cred, if you bother to look for it. Yes, Informer as the biggest selling reggae single of all time is a bit outrageous, but I don’t think Mr. Darrin O’Brien deserves the blame. Enjoy and rethink, w/ the following.