Taurus Ink speaks through his music and tattoos

Dancehall singjay-songwriter-producer Taurus Ink uses his entire body as a canvas to express his innermost feelings, life philosophies and creative ideas.

"Each tattoo tells a story of Taurus Ink. It's not an obsession, it's a book," said the artiste, given name Michael Andre Taylor.

He said that his favourite tattoo is the creatively stencilled 'Laugh Now, Cry Later', which is on his chest.

"It speaks about my struggles in the music industry. The fake friends that come along with it, the ones that never wanted to support me. This tattoo serves as a reminder and motivation," he said.

The singjay has been raising eyebrows with his new song, Talk Say Mi Hype, which racked up more than 70,000 views on YouTube in one week. It was released last month.

"The feedback has been incredible so far, especially since the video was released. People love the energy of the song, and with the reopening of the entertainment sector, we can do some more aggressive marketing and promotion," he said.

Taurus Ink attended St Aloysius Primary in Kingston, where he was lead singer of the choir. Later on at Mona High School in St Andrew, he began penning his own lyrics and writing complete songs.

"Music has always been a passion for me ever since. My life, my struggles and my environment inspire me to do music," he said.

He got his stage name from his peers, who were impressed by his vocal ability and his clever witty rhymes.

"In high school on our lunch break, few of my classmates would normally used a pen to beat on the desktop to make a rhythm we all could vibe to. Then I would just start freestyle anything that would come to mind on the spot, and they loved it. I was the most lyrical out of them all," he said. "The fact that I'm so lyrical, the only thing they could compare my lyrics with is a Taurus, which is a lethal weapon."