"Informer" is a 1992 single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 by Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 musician Snow

Snow (musician)

Darrin O'Brien , better known by his stage name Snow, is a Juno Award-winning Canadian rap and reggae musician. He is best known for his 1992 single "Informer", which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.-Life and work:...

. It features and is produced by Queensbridge-bred rapper MC Shan

MC Shan

MC Shan is an American rapper. He is perhaps best known for collaborating with Snow in "Informer", an international number one hit single.-Biography:...

, and is from Snow's debut album 12 Inches of Snow

12 Inches of Snow

12 Inches of Snow is the debut album by Canadian reggae musician Snow, released in 1993. Edmond Leary and MC Shan produced the entire album, apart from one track which was produced by John Ficarrotta. The album was produced shortly before Snow was imprisoned for a year on an assault charge. Upon...

. The single was released shortly before Snow was imprisoned for a year on an assault

Assault

In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...

 charge. Upon his release from prison, "Informer" became a chart topping hit, spending seven consecutive weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

. It was his biggest hit in the UK, where it reached Number 2, behind two different number one singles. In 2007, the song was ranked #84 on VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's.

Remakes

• The melody of the song was covered by Arash
  Arash (artist)
  Arash Labaf is an Iranian-Swedish singer, dancer, entertainer and producer.- Early life :Arash Labaf was born in Tehran, Iran. At age ten, he and his family moved to Sweden, where he still resides. In an interview with BBC Persian Television, he has mentioned that his mother and father are from...
  
   and Aneela
  Anila Mirza
  Aneela Mirza, or Anila Mirza is a Danish singer, born and raised in Denmark.Her mother is half Pakistani-half Iranian, and her father is a Parsi....
  
   as "Chori Chori".
• The melody of the song was covered by Spiritual Lyric Sound  as "Down Babylon".
• The melody of the song's chorus was covered by the Greek Comedy hip-hop
  Comedy hip hop
  Comedy hip hop or comedy rap is a sub-genre of hip hop music that's comedic in nature, often incorporating satirical lyrics. While a lot of comedy hip hop could be considered a parody of the hip hop genre, with artists such as Eminem, this is not always the case. Its central idea is to amuse the...
  
   band Imiskoumbria
  Imiskoumbria
  Imiskoumbria , also known as Imiz is a comedy hip-hop group from Athens, Greece. The group's roster has been the same since its inception in 1996 until 2010, constisting of rapper Dimitris Mentzelos , Mithridatis and DJ Pritanis Imiskoumbria (Greek: Ημισκούμπρια), also known as Imiz is a comedy...
  
   as "Katadotes" (Which means "Informers" in Greek).

Parody

Despite Informer's chart success, many reggae purists viewed the song, along with the works of Ini Kamoze

Ini Kamoze

Cecil Campbell , better known by his stage name Ini Kamoze is a Jamaican reggae singer. He is best known for his signature song, "Here Comes the Hotstepper", which was released in 1994, and subsequently topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart...

, Diana King

Diana King

Diana King is a reggae fusion singer-songwriter who specifically performed a mixture and fusion of R&B, reggae, pop and dancehall...

, Shaggy

Shaggy

Shaggy may refer to:*Shaggy Rogers, a fictional character from the Scooby-Doo series*Shaggy , Jamaican American reggae rapper & singer*Shaggy , radio personality and producer of 2 Live Stews...

 and Shabba Ranks

Shabba Ranks

Shabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall musician.He was one of the most popular dancehall artists of his generation. He was also one of the first Jamaican deejays to gain worldwide acceptance, and recognition for his 'slack' lyrical expressions and content, when "ridin' di riddim"...

, as another example of "watered down" commercial reggae that rose to international popularity in the 1990s. The sketch comedy show In Living Color

In Living Color

In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...

, in a mock video featuring Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey

James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...

 as Snow, famously parodied the criticisms of reggae purists. Throughout the video, Carrey flees from angry Jamaican rastas determined to reclaim the purity of reggae from commercialism.

Track listings

CD maxi

1. "Informer" (radio mix) — 4:11
2. "Informer" (album mix Rick The Mexican remix edit) — 4:28
3. "Informer" (drum mix) — 4:12
4. "Informer" (Clark's fat bass mix) — 4:39
5. "Informer" (Clark's super mix) — 4:51

7" single

1. "Informer" (radio edit) — 4:05
2. "Informer" (album mix Rick The Mexican Remix Edit) — 4:28

12" maxi

1. "Informer" (LP version Rick The Mexican remix edit) — 4:28
2. "Informer" (drum mix) — 4:12
3. "Informer" (dub) — 4:12
4. "Informer" (Clark's fat bass mix) — 4:39
5. "Informer" (Clark's super radio mix) — 4:11
6. "Informer" (super dub) — 4:50

Cassette

1. "Informer" (LP version Rick The Mexican Remix Edit) — 4:30
2. "Informer" (drum mix) — 4:13

Personnel

• Text : Darrin O'Brien, Edmund Leary, Shawn Moltke
• Producer : MC Shan
• Executive producer : David Eng, EZ Steve Salem
• Co-producer : Edmund Leary, John "Jumpstreet" Ficarotta
• Photography : Melanie Nissen
• Informer remixer/editor: Rick The Mexican Huerta

Peak positions

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	1
Austrian Singles Chart	2
Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....	9
Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...	2
Eurochart Hot 100	1
French Singles Chart	3
German Singles Chart	1
Irish Singles Chart Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:...	1
New Zealand Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	1
Swedish Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...	24
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	10
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	12

End of year charts

End of year chart (1993)	Position
Australian Singles Chart	6
Austrian Singles Chart	9
Dutch Top 40	11
Swiss Singles Chart	14
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	10

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	28

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified
Austria	Gold	July 16, 1993	15,000
Germany	Platinum	1993	500,000
UK	Silver	April 1, 1993	200,000
U.S.	Platinum	March 16, 1993	1,000,000

Chart successions