Soul of the City, the six-track EP by deejay 10Tik, is scheduled for release on May 21.

The artiste — who shot to fame last year with the gritty Roll Deep — says the project will show his introspective side, while introducing him to a wider cross section of listeners.

“Soul of the City is the theme I use to refer to the ‘Gwallas’. Gwallas are the people in the city who keep society moving and the metropolitan area turning. These people are like your street vendors, taxi operators, street cleaners and firefighters,” 10Tik explained.

Prior to venturing into music, 10Tik worked as a firefighter, which meant he had to be on call 24-hour each day.

“This EP captures the story of the Gwallas as well as the theme for my music which is the struggles we go through as inner-city people to break the cycle of poverty,” 10Tik added.

Soul of the City is led by the first single Purpose.

He said Purpose was written after a brush he had with the law.

“My previous songs were done for everyone and the soul. As it relates to Purpose, I had just got released from jail and a brethren sent me the rhythm and it just clicked. I started crying when I heard it and the words for the song just came to me and I delivered it with passion. This song shows my optimistic and reflective side and it demonstrates my desire to be successful and really says that was the first and last time I was ever going to go behind bars,” he said.

He added, “We’re keeping the balance of what fans were looking out for. But at the same time, listeners can expect a gritty depiction of the badness that we encounter, or our desire to make it out of badness as inner-city persons.”

Some of the producers who contributed to the EP include Streetside College, 10Tik City Inc and Steinz Entertainment. There are also two collaborators, British rapper Dutch A Velli and Skillibeng.

“There is a mutual respect for both artists who I collaborated with on the EP, I was going on a tour to England and Dutch A Velli wanted to do some work before he left. As for Skillibeng, mi a link for a long time cause we seh East Syde,” said 10Tik.

Born Carlton Nembhard, 10Tik is from Kingston. Aside from Roll Deep, his other hits include We Nuh Like War and Gangster.

Since his teens 10Tik aspired to be an entertainer. He worked with the Jamaica Fire Brigade for five years before throwing in the towel five years ago. His journey to success had been 10 years in the making.