Ghanaian singer Gyakie | Digital Cover Autumn 2021

Growing up as a British-Ghanaian, the music of Ghana has always been so magical to me. High Life music was the soundtrack to a very significant part of my youth, with countless wonderful memories attending Ghanaian dinner dances and parties with my mother all over London town. A culture so strong from the incredible live band, to extravagant dressing and OMG the never ending buffet of jollof rice, chicken and sticked kebabs. Yum! My mouth waters just thinking about it, I truly miss those days. As I sit here writing these words, currently playing in the background is one of my favourite Ghanaian High Life songs, ‘Na Anka Ebeye Den,’ by the legendary Nana Acheampong. Whilst I’m truly enjoying my trip down memory lane, the topic at hand is not specifically the Champion Lover Boy himself, instead we turn our attention to his daughter Gyakie who in present day, is on a fast trajectory to becoming just as iconic as her Father and is our cover story for Autumn 2021.

Jacket and Trousers by Palmwine Ice Cream. Shoes and accessories sourced from Kantamanto Market, Accra

“My favorite song from my dad is ‘Casanova’,” Gyakie tells me. “It’s the kind of song I would write. The storyline is interesting, it talks about a very beautiful love story of my dad and a lady he had eyes for.” It’s pretty evident that writing hit love songs runs in the family. Gyakie’s standout single ‘Forever’ and its remix featuring Nigerian singer-songwriter Omah Lay has amassed over 50 million cumulative streams worldwide, reaching the top 10 in both the Triller Billboard Global Chart and UK Afrobeats Chart. On Friday August 6, Gyakie released her latest single ‘Need Me’. The song is about someone who’s always available and on standby for the person they love. “It’s a song that will make you fall in love and after the year of being in a global pandemic, I think the world needs beauty and love,” shares Gyakie.

‘Need Me’ follows the release of Gyakie’s debut ‘Seed’ EP which she released via Flip The Music in August 2020, before re-releasing with Sony Music earlier this year. “I'm very excited about this release because it's been a year since I dropped music and I know my fans have been yearning for it,” shares Gyakie and she’s not wrong. The ‘Seed’ EP is a brilliant project, effortlessly fusing afrobeats with elements of soul and poetry. It’s no surprise Gyakie takes inspiration from French-Nigerian singer-songwriter Aṣa, the depth of Gyakie’s music at only 22 years of age is impressive, delivered with such an alternative tone too. “Her 2007 ‘Aṣa (Asha)’ album is my favorite because it’s a masterpiece,” Gyakie tells me. “I also love Omar Sterling’s ‘Victory Through Harmony’. The first time I heard this song, I was instantly blown away.” This all makes perfect sense, especially when you listen to Gyakie’s ‘Joy and Happiness (Intro)’ and ‘The Journey (Outro)’, which are both poetic in nature. Whilst I can happily listen to Gyakie’s debut over and over (literally), the release of ‘Need Me’ came at a perfect time and Gyakie has not disappointed. Linking up with Sosa, the producer she started her music career with, ‘Need Me’ exudes pure chemistry and sensuality. “It’s a beautiful song,” expresses Gyakie. “I know my fans and I know what they’ll love, which is exactly what I always want to give to them.”

Shirt by Osei Duro and accessories sourced from Kantamanto Market, Accra

There is no denying Gyakie is a woman that knows exactly what she wants. Although only in her early twenties, she carries the soul and maturity of a person well beyond her years. If becoming a global superstar wasn’t enough on her plate, Gyakie’s focus isn’t purely on just music, “I am still a student of KNUST Business School studying International Business,” she tells me. “I’m in my final year and hopefully by the end of this year, I’ll be completely done with my tertiary education.” I can only imagine how tough this must be for her, studying alone is tough but to also be on the road and building your music career too, how does she do it? “I had to teach myself to juggle the two,” she explains. “It hasn’t been easy doing both. I have a goal, and that goal is not just to graduate school but to be an example to the younger ones that are dreaming of starting a career and being in school.” When her single ‘Forever’ started to gain chart success around the world, Gyakie admits she did have thoughts about giving up on the further education, “I had to travel for shows outside Ghana, as well as studying on the side. It got so difficult that I somehow thought of giving up on school but I stood firm and here I am, close to finishing in grand style!”

Gyakie’s discipline towards her craft as an artist is taken just as seriously. Living in Kumasi, she had to fly out to Accra for this editorial, taking a late night flight with an early morning start. She was an absolute pleasure to work with, very easy going and up for trying anything. “It was so fun shooting with amazing people,” she shares. “The vibe was on point, everyone knew what they had to do and we were able to achieve beautiful looks.” Gyakie’s confidence is on par with an artist who’s been doing this for a while but she tells me this is something she’s had to work at over time,”I have not always been as confident as I am now in myself but when it comes to standing in front of the camera, I’m always confident.” I was super keen to know Gyakie’s star sign, “I’m a Sagittarius and we are outspokenly optimistic extroverts,” she stated. Interesting! She has such an allure and intrigue about her however, it’s very subtle and contained. She’s far from shy however, extremely calm, very polite but all the same very assertive in nature.

“2019 was a good year for me,” these are the lyrics Gyakie sings on the outro of her debut EP ‘Seed’. I was pretty sure more recent times had now topped this statement, “One hundred percent,” she tells me. “Something I never saw coming. 2020/2021 has been a blessing, changed my life and taught me a lot as well.” She goes on to tell me about her highlights of 2021 so far, from rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in the music industry, to meeting her fans around the world and changing lives through her music. A memorable moment for Gyakie was being introduced by Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter, Angélique Kidjo who had the pleasure of introducing Gyakie’s MTV Base Africa Day performance. “It was a huge motivation for me,” shares Gyakie. “She mentioned that she was ‘honored to introduce the audience to a young woman from Ghana, whose talent and infectious energy is undeniable.’” I asked Gyakie to share further details of her experience for this very special performance, “The MTV Base Africa Day performance was an honor. The Africa Day is a day of African unity, another indicator of the power of music to connect around the world. I was extremely proud of myself for being part of such a memorable day, as well as being a representative for my country, Ghana.” The ‘Forever’ remix charting at number eight on the UK Afrobeats Chart, was another key highlight of the year for Gyakie. “The UK has been important to the growth of African music artists,” explains Gyakie. Leading on from this, I ask her who from the UK is she keen to work with? “Shaybo, Jae5, Juls, Dave and Stormzy,” she tells me. Apart from Shaybo the names mentioned are all British-Ghanaian.

I’m yet to visit Kumasi, the Ghanaian city known for spilling out masses of Ghanaian music talent, especially present day with the rise of Ghanaian-Drill and the Kumerica movement. I ask Gyakie what it’s like, “Kumasi is a peaceful place. The people here are amazing and welcoming. Growing up was mostly home vibes. I wasn’t the type that goes out a lot because I have strict parents haha.” Located in the south of Ghana, Kumasi is the largest city and regional capital of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. “Being an ashanti woman makes me proud,” states Gyakie. “Trust me, we got the best food, clothing, dance - our culture is just amazing.” With the widespread of the pandemic, Gyakie’s opportunity to travel has been restricted but she has had the opportunity to travel to and perform in both Nigeria and Tanzania. “I want to go to Jamaica,” she admits when I ask her where else she would like to visit. “I love their music, and I can’t wait to collaborate with some of their artists. I would love to experience the culture and the people, as well as their tourist sites and food!” I wondered if Gyakie would ever think about moving to another part of the world but her heart is set on home it seems, “I don’t think I want to relocate to anywhere else,” she expresses. “It’s Kumasi forever!”

With such success so fast and also being so young, I imagine the journey so far has been quite overwhelming for Gyakie, “being known by a lot more people hasn’t been easy for me because it’s not something I’m used to, it’s new to me,” she admits. “I have learnt a lot on this journey including trying to take care of myself when there are so many direct messages to respond to on social media. I hate to let my fans down. I must say, having Flip The Music (Gyakie’s manager Agbo Shikome) behind me helps because he keeps me grounded and it has really nurtured me on a different level.” I ask Gyakie what she enjoys the most about creating music, “the process of having a thought or an idea and putting it to music,” she explains. “I love creating in the right environment for the song to breathe. Then hearing people love my craft and knowing that it has had good impacts in their lives is the icing on the cake.”

There is no denying the struggles women face globally to make it in the music industry. “One thing I would change about the industry is to make it easier for more females to be heard,” details Gyakie. “I have been lucky to be supported by the likes of Spotify who made me the first African artist to cover their EQUAL Global playlist, which is all about female creators globally,” she continues. “I would love for more opportunities for women in Ghana to reach some global platforms.” Speaking further of the struggles for emerging artists in general, Gyakie shares more on what she would do to make changes in today’s industry, “I would try to make people expand their taste in music and for credits to be given to not just popular artists but anybody else that is creating unique music!” Here stands an artist who is not only passionate about her own music but also for the industry as a whole and for changes to be made for the better of creativity.

Top and trousers by Atto Tetteh. Shoes and accessories sourced from Kantamanto Market, Accra

Drawing to the end of our interview, there is one thing that I had on my mind, when can we expect to hear a debut LP from this incredible little lady named Gyakie? “I started working on my album in 2019, so you should know whenever that album is coming, it’s going to be a masterpiece,” she details. In the meantime Gyakie tells me that we can look forward to more music and another project from her before the end of the year. To close, I ask Gyakie what message she hopes to leave with the people that come across her music. What she had to share was truly special, “love leads everything and hard work always reflects in the future.”

Gyakie’s new single ‘Need Me’ is out now and available to stream on Spotify below and all other popular streaming platforms. Enjoy!

With the release of her latest single 'Need Me' Ghanaian singer Gyakie is our cover for Autumn 2021