In the last two decades, Snow has rarely released new music (his last album was 2002вЂ™s Two Hands Clapping), and he suffered through the cancer-related death of his girlfriend (and mother of his daughter) in 2009. вЂњI was having too much fun.вЂќ As strong as the album was, it sank, as did another follow-up for many, he was simply the Vanilla Ice of the North. вЂњI was in Jamaica for six months, and the record company came down and I was partying and drinking,вЂќ he says. The inevitable backlash, especially given Snow was white, followed: Jim Carrey mocked Snow in the parody вЂњImposterвЂќ on In Living Color, and SnowвЂ™s hard living returned when he went to Jamaica to record his second album, the deep reggae dive Murder Love. He claims American radio stations stopped playing his music when they heard he wouldnвЂ™t be able to promote them in their country. вЂњI had the Number One song and they threw me out of the country,вЂќ he says. (вЂњMore milk and cookiesвЂќ was his reward behind bars, he says.) As the song went on to become the biggest-selling reggae single of all time that summer, SnowвЂ™s jail time meant he was denied entry into the States. One of the tracks they cut, вЂњInformer,вЂќ was released while Snow was incarcerated. HeвЂ™d be down in the basement in his studio and say, вЂDo a harmony here.вЂ™ IвЂ™m like, вЂWhatвЂ™s a harmony?вЂ™вЂќ вЂњSo IвЂ™d go to A&P and steal chickens and beef and feed his whole family.

вЂњI was 18, 19 years old and a huge Shan fan, but he wasnвЂ™t doing too well at the time,вЂќ Snow says. There, at least, his bad-boy side came in handy. Charged with attempted murder, Snow spent eight months in a detention center before his friend confessed to the stabbing.ДЄfter the incident but shortly before that stint, Snow - who was given that nickname by his Jamaican-Canadian neighbors - was on vacation in New York, where he met and recorded with pioneering hip hop producer MC Shan. When construction workers mocked him after they saw him singing reggae to girls, he and a friend got into a butcher-knife fight with the workers, one of whom was cut. вЂњHe was cool.вЂќДrinking and brawling was a regular part of SnowвЂ™s adolescence, and in 1989, that part of his life caught up with him. вЂњIf it wasnвЂ™t for, I wouldnвЂ™t be in music,вЂќ says Snow, who later met TrudeauвЂ™s son (and future prime minister himself) Justin at an awards show. After Jamaicans moved into his neighborhood - thanks to then-Prime Minister Pierre TrudeauвЂ™s revised immigration policies - reggae infiltrated his life for good.

Growing up as Darrin OвЂ™Brien in Irish projects in Toronto, he was raised on classic rock, from Kiss to soft-rock kings America.

SnowвЂ™s career has been, to put it mildly, unconventional. Will Snow now capitalize on its renewed profile? вЂњ Capitalize?вЂќ he says, as if the word is foreign to him. вЂњI said, вЂLetвЂ™s see if this can pass the original,вЂ™ and then I looked at the views on YouTube and was like, вЂHoly shit, no joke!вЂ™вЂќ вЂњWhen I heard it, I got chills,вЂќ Snow, who will turn 50 later this year, says of the original вЂњCon CalmaвЂќ record.

Con calma