Hot newcomer Byron Messia has struck gold in Canada with Talibans, which was on Wednesday certified by Music Canada for sales exceeding 40,000 units.

The artiste, who resides in St Kitts and Nevis, is originally from Drewsland in Kingston.

"I was born in Drewsland, and I was adopted by a lady in St Kitts and Nevis when I was two months old. I went to Washington Archibald High, and I did one year in college at the Fitzroy Clarence Bryant College," Byron Messia shared in an interview with Loop Entertainment recently.

Messia said his passion for music began during the ninth grade.

"It was when I was in the ninth grade that I began to take music serious. In 2018, I became island famous, and it wasn't until last year that I became known regionally," he said.

Messia said that growing up in St Kitts and Nevis, people questioned his mother why she adopted him.

"When my mom adopted me, people were asking where you get this child from. Nobody was feeling me. Now, it's a bag of fake people showing fake love. Growing up was kinda hard, because of the noises around the environment. We are all humans and we have emotions. Music on a whole was what kept me motivated. Many times I felt like giving up," Messia recounted.

Messia has recorded for several Jamaican producers, including Romeich Entertainment, DJ Mac, Blak Spyda, and Gwaallas Music.

Said Messia: "I have a new album coming out soon, which is titled 'Sad and Famous'. I have four features on it, two Jamaicans and two international artistes."

Talibans, released earlier this year by Ztekk/Simple Stupid Records/Geffen/Interscope, has been making an impact on several charts globally.

In fact, the artiste whipped social media into a frenzy this week when he asserted that 'Talibans' is the biggest dancehall hit since 2005. He said in an Instagram story:

“PS: I got a Billboard album by ma self… And biggest song in dancehall since 2005… Big song and bad song different.”

The song peaked at number 75 on the Irish Singles chart, number 12 on the UK Singles chart, number 18 on the Nigeria Hot 100, and it entered Germany's Urban/Hip-hop chart last week at number 21.

In the United States, the remix of Talibans, titled 'Talibans II' featuring Burna Boy, peaked at number three on the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart.

The original version of 'Talibans' has so far peaked at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 18 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, number 11 on Rap Airplay, number 20 on Rhythmic Top 40, and number 20 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay.

The song was certified silver in the United Kingdom in August for sales and streaming equivalent exceeding 200,000 units.