Gyakie: Africa’s delectably talented Songbird [Pulse Interview]

Since she broke into the mainstream two years ago, Gyakie has established herself as a fresh voice whose talent and spectacular music are contributing to the impressive success at the female end of Afrobeats. I asked Gyakie how she feels to be selected as Apple Music Africa Rising Artist and she tells me she feels very proud of herself to be able to achieve this level of success in a relatively short time.

“I am very proud of myself considering I was able to do this in a short time,” she says.

For Gyakie, her success is not hers alone but a win for girls and women across the continent. “What this means to me is that I was able to achieve something I always wanted to do which is to make young girls and women proud and know that if I can do it so can they,” she tells me.

In 2022, Gyakie has been on the road performing her songs to fans in the US and Europe. She recently released her sophomore EP, ‘My Diary’ which displays her desire to make music for a wider audience. I asked Gyakie if the EP is a statement of her intentions to be an international superstar and she tells me her primary driver is to make good music that appeals to listeners who appreciates it.

“I always like to jump on different genres and my major concern is that the beat should be good. For this album, I made Jazz, Reggae, R&B, and Hip Hop, and I just wanted to get into the ears of different listeners and give them different sounds through the project,” she says.

For the average listener, Gyakie’s music contains simple and relatable writing that seems to give listeners a peek into the artist. In my review of the ‘My Diary’ EP, I described it as a soothing documentation of the depth of her feelings and passions as it relates to her romantic and artistic endeavors. I asked Gyakie how much of her reality she infused into the album and she tells me ‘My Diary’ contained her private musing as well as music she thinks listeners will enjoy.

“My diary is you listening to things going in my life except for the romantic aspects because your girl is single. I just try to make music that my fans can enjoy and relate to”.

For Gyakie, ‘Waka Waka’ is the song that captures the EP’s theme in that it conveys her musing and private thoughts. “The song ‘Waka Waka’ is from a personal space and it contains some of the things I say to myself and I won’t really share in public. It was me talking about the things I have done, I’m doing, and I’m yet to do.” she reveals.

While Gyakie’s music is from a female point of view the style, writing, and delivery is appealing and enjoyable for both genders. I asked her how she was able to achieve this balance and she reveals that she puts herself in the shoes of her listeners while making music.

“Most of the time when I’m writing a song, I always consider my fans and try to do something that both my male fans and female fans will enjoy because they are like 50/50.”

With her music on the rise and an appealing personality that makes her one of the most desirable female Afrobeats stars, Gyakie is in huge demand by fans across the world. I asked if her fans will be seeing more of her this year and she let me know she won’t be slowing down soon.

“I started playing shows around at the beginning of this year because I didn’t get a chance to perform by breakout ‘SEED’ EP due to the pandemic. I will continue going on tour for the rest of the year and I will be closing it off with my show in Accra in December called ‘Live Experience With Gyakie’ “.

I asked Gyakie if she will be stopping by in Nigeria where she has been given the name Chidinma upon her adoption and she tells me she certainly will. “I look forward to coming to Nigeria in the coming months”.

Before the interview ended I asked the Songbird if fans should look forward to new music videos and she replies in the affirmative. “We plan to shoot music videos for other songs in the EP so you guys should look forward to that,” she says heartily.