Bad Boy Snow Is Back

Canadian rapper MC SNOW is returning to the limelight after a criminal record plunged him into obscurity in the early 1990s.

The Toronto singer shot to fame in 1993 with his massive hit INFORMER, and has thrilled patient fans by working on a new record, which is due for release later this year (05).

Snow credits his time in prison with helping him to hone his skills, joking that "if you can sing in jail and not get killed, you know you're OK".

However, his efforts to reclaim chart success were hindered after he was dropped by his America record company and banned from the US and Japan because of his criminal record.

America security officials only allowed the singer back into the country five months ago, and he's determined to make up for lost time.

He says, "I'm working on a new record right now, which I hope to get rolling later this year. People tell me I paved the way for Eminem.

"He paved his own way, but he got it easy. I came just after Vanilla Ice, and people were saying, 'What the hell is this guy doing singing in patois?' I had to win people over the tough way. I'm still banned from Japan though."