

Katrine Ring from Gaffa stated that it is an "excellent pop-number". Swedish newspaper Expressen described it as "hard-boiled Jamaican crime fiction". Martinez from Cashbox stated that it "demonstrate Snow's unique delivery which sounds less imitative than some dancehallers or rappers from the bonafide hood." Havelock Nelson from Entertainment Weekly deemed the song as "slippery and tuneful".


In a 1999 interview, he referred to his criminal history as "a couple of bar fights." Critical reception ĪllMusic editor Ron Wynn called the song "patois-laced", and noted further that it "shattered the myth that pop audiences wouldn't embrace any tune whose lyrics weren't in pristine English when his video was released, it included a rolling translation at the bottom." M.R. 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. The song is based on a separate 1989 incident when Snow was charged with two counts of attempted murder. "Informer" began getting radio and MuchMusic airplay while he was incarcerated. Shortly thereafter, Snow began serving an eight-month sentence in Toronto for assault.

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. In 1992, while on vacation in Queens, New York with Dj Marvin Prince, Dj Marvin Prince introduced Snow to American rapper and record producer MC Shan, and they produced a four-song demo. He was raised on classic rock, but after Jamaicans moved into his neighborhood, due to then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's revised immigration policies, reggae became a huge part of his life. Snow grew up as Darrin O'Brien in Toronto, Canada. But people didn't know what I was singing." It's not, 'Baby, I love you.' I wrote that song in jail about informers. The Spanish-language remake topped the charts of 20 countries and reached the top 10 of 10 others. In 2019, Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and rapper Daddy Yankee released a reimagination of "Informer" as " Con Calma" together with Snow, who recorded new parts. The song is well known for the line "a licky boom boom down" and for Snow's fast toasting and often unintelligible lyrics. Conversely, the song was included in Pitchfork 's 2010 list of "the seven worst U.S. In 2007, the song was ranked number 84 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s. It was his biggest hit in the United Kingdom, where it reached number two, behind two different number-one singles. Produced by MC Shan, who also contributed a rap verse, the single was a chart-topping hit, spending seven consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. " Informer" is a 1992 song by Canadian reggae musician Snow, released as the first single from his debut album, 12 Inches of Snow (1993).
