Dancehall artiste Tatik knows too well that the road to a successful career in music is not an easy ride.

The deejay, placed fourth in the 2017 edition of the now-defunct television talent series Magnum King of the Dancehall, shares that the journey has been tough.

“It’s been a rough journey, but all the obstacles, stress, and pain made me into a better person. Experiencing the difficulties only makes me find more hit songs to write about, so all that pain was needed,” he said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

The artiste recently returned to the island after performing at Summerjam, a popular reggae festival in Germany. He was taken aback when one of his songs, Win, received a huge reception from the audience.

“Being in a different country with different people speaking other languages, I never expected the audience to be singing my song,” said Tatik.

Win was released in August 2021 and is produced by Mari The Producer.

“There are a lot of people out there who still want to hear good music and a song like Win will go far,” said Tatik.

He said the visit to Germany gave him some much-needed exposure.

“I gained a lot of knowledge, exposure, and I even made some musical links to do work with,” he asserted.

Strongest Soldier List, a song he released in February, has become somewhat of a sleeper hit. The song is fast gaining traction in the streets and has become a favourite on mixtapes and with selectors.

Recently the song made its début at #20 on the Magnum Top Twenty chart.

Tatik shared the inspiration behind the song.

“Father God mi a beg yuh stop test me,” was the first thing I said when I heard the beat. From there I wrote the song around that line. Some stuff are personal experiences, but I mainly focus on what most people are going through and structure the song in that way so it can be relatable to most people,” he explained.

Strongest Soldier List is a joint production between Crown Heights Entertainment and One Link Musiq.

Asked what it was about the song that has caught the ears of listeners, he said: “Singing about what most people are going through, that no one has ever put in a song, has caught a lot of ears.”

Born Kevin Daley, Tatik is 33 years of age.

“Music, for me, was self- taught. I grew up around musical instruments and I also have family members who are musicians so I guess that’s how I got the love for music,” he said.