A staff birthday party, even for one's Editor-In-Chief, is the last place one expects to meet a record-setting African musician, but that"s exactly what happened while grooving to the beats at the Gabby@40 birthday celebration.

Into the party walked Tic-Tac the first African artist to be featured on MTV’s Making the Video.

Looking cool and relaxed in a collared shirt, jeans, and over-sized sunglasses, Tic-Tac pulled up a chair to soak up the atmosphere, and to talk about how he’s come to be arguably the most recognisable Ghanaian hip-life artist, gracing TVs across Africa, but Tic-Tac says that’s just the beginning.

"I want to use myself as an icon. When people look at me, it will lift their self-esteem. My own creativity has taken me to a place where I don’t know but I think I am a hip-life artist and it is being good to me," he said.

Tic-Tac had his video shot by music-directing legend Gil Greene. Greene was in Africa to work on Akon’s video Mama Africa.

"MTV wanted to use an artist to show to the world how they can shoot a clip with low budget but quality," said the singer. That has proven a boon for Tic-Tac and his track "Kangaroo" featuring fellow hip-life star Samini (formerly Batman), which has surged to no 2 on MTV Africa’s charts, and no 10 world charts.

Where did the star get his unusual moniker? "In school my boys always say I am always on time like Tic Tac," he said.

Unlike some of his musical compatriots who say they fell into music careers almost by accident, Tic Tac, whose real name is Nana Kwaku Otchere Dua, knew he wanted to be a musician right from the get-go. "Music is my life," he says.

However, like many of his fellow artists, Tic-Tac owes a great deal of his success to the legend Reggie Rockstone. "Reggie brought the revolution to us and took it to another level. He made us understand that if you can express in English why don’t we come back to our land and it has really helped us. We will always be grateful."

And, while Tic-Tac loves North American stars like Busta Rhymes [his dream collaborator], the talented rapper is inspired by the sounds of his African brothers and sisters, which is why on his last album Masem, he made a point of collaborating with as many other continental artists as possible.

Moving forward, Kwaku Otchere Dua says he wants to work harder on inspiring others. Saying his music is moving more towards the "mind," he hopes to use his talents to shed light on a variety of social issues. "I feel people need that to stay upright instead of every day chilling, chilling. I think my music is doing that by keeping them straight."

Of course even Tic-Tac has needed some of that inspiration. He told The Saturday Statesman about the worst experience of his professional life. "I went to the Joy FM old school reunion, for some reason I don’t know. I was supposed to be performing and they told me in my face that I can’t perform. Even as big as I am they stopped me from performing and the whole crowd was like they want Tic-Tac but… I was giving my love to the station and my fans. On that day I felt so bad because [disappointment] was in the eyes of my fans."

Another, even bigger blow, was losing his older brother who Tic-Tac says was the "biggest supporter" of his music career. Quietly the artist explained that he’s written several songs about the loss, and says all of his music is dedicated to his brother.

Still Tic-Tac enjoys the support of his sister, and his mother and father - he says the two trusted him when he decided to pursue music, although they were worried he would "fall in with the wrong crowd."

"I have proven them wrong. When I got to some level they saw that there was no way I will go off track, now everybody is happy in the family because they gave me the chance and they have not regretted it."

And what about Kwaku Otchere Dua’s quest to start his own family? The normally exuberant rapper gets a little shy at that question. And with a sweet smile he reveals that he has a long-term girlfriend, although the man, who makes his living moving his lips, clamps them up tight when asked if children might be on the way soon.

Instead the star gives a hearty laugh, puts his sunglasses back on, and settles in to enjoy the party.