The songbird has been an unstoppable force since her breakthrough last year, making her one of Ghana’s global front-liners and music assets.
Though it feels like just yesterday, it has been three years since Gyakie visited the iMullar Studios to discuss her first performance—A jazz event at Golden beam in an interview. Since her debut in 2019 with the viral single “Love is Pretty”, the Ghanaian afro-fusion singer has shaped and distinctively shepherded her sound and career in a way that pleases the world and her “Gyakie-chans”; (yes! That is the name of her fanbase).
Born to Nana Acheampong, who is the other half of the famous Lumba brothers known for popularizing Burger-highlife in Ghana, you’d automatically expect this pressure on the young singer to live up to her father’s legacy, but she has sailed her way through it and it been a good voyage so far. After Forever’s success which attracted a feature from Omah Lay, the singer has been on a never-ending success roller coaster.
Her hard work & potential earned her and her label Flip The Music an international record deal with Sony Music Entertainment, RCA records UK, and Sony Music Africa, making her the first Ghanaian to strike a deal with Sony.
The deal would introduce her craft to the world on a larger scale. Her debut EP “SEED” & Forever remix received a double platinum certification plaque in South Africa after selling more than 40,000 units each in South Africa alone, according to the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA). She was presented with the plaque at Sony’s Music Publishing HQ in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Back home, at the most prestigious awards show in Ghana (VGMA’S), the singer got the notch for International Collaboration of the Year, winning her first VGMA. Before that, she won “Emerging Woman of the year” at the 3music awards in 2021, before returning this year for 3music’s “Woman of the Year” award. Talk about progress. With just two EP’s, she has earned 12 nominations, winning four awards, the latest being the Best West African Artiste of the Year at the Headies Awards.
Coming from an industry that seems to breed more male acts, especially at the highest level, Gyakie has been on her toes, cementing her status as a feminine powerhouse. She made history by becoming the first African woman to be featured on Spotify Equal, a global initiative by Spotify that aims to amplify the work of women artists across the world.
Over the years, her stagecraft has greatly improved, and it paid off heavily. She’s also the first Ghanaian to perform at VEVO’s DSCVR, a high-quality Live performance video content. She is also the first Ghanaian to perform at Apple Music’s Home session series & Pandora’s Africa’s Next guest.
Gyakie has had a good run this year, from performing alongside Usher, SZA, and Stormzy at the Global Citizen to being the only Ghanaian act billed to perform at the MTV Base, YouTube African Day Concert.
Youtube Music also announced her as a member of the YouTube Black Voices Class of 2023, joining Nigeria’s BNXN, Asake, production duo, Take A Daytrip, Ghanaian producer JULS and South Africa’s MashBeatz. She is also the only Ghanaian female act to be called. As of 24 November, she also hit a new milestone, reaching over 100 million views on YouTube, a difficult feat to achieve in a short time frame.
2022 was an excellent year, and her Spotify Wrapped is sheer proof. Her records made an impact in 183 countries & she was one of the top artists with 5,643 fans, Top 10 artists with 75,000 fans too. She looks forward to completing an excellent year with the second edition of her Live Concert, “Party Live with Gyakie”, which is happening on December 16, the same day as her birthday, the perfect way to sum up a year of winning streaks.
