Johannesburg - In Ghana, the pronunciation of “gy” sounds more like a “j” when the locals speak the Twi language.
For Afrofusion singer Jackline Acheampong, choosing a stage name that paid homage to her home town was only natural.
“I decided to put in the Twi language to depict where I am coming from so the Gyakie spelling is because I am Ashanti, from Kumasi,” said the 20-year-old daughter of high-life legend Nana Acheampong.
“Growing up, I would always go to the studio with my dad and there was always music playing at home. He fuelled my love for music and entertainment.”
A few years ago, Gyakie received a beat from a Nigerian producer and she wrote a song for it. She didn’t think that this would lead to anything more.
“I just went to record the song thinking I would just send it to a few friends and we would vibe around with it, but after the song was released the reception from people was beyond my expectations and made me realise that people wanted more of the voice that they had heard from that song. So I just had to continue the journey that I started.”
In February 2019, she released her first single titled Love Is Pretty and after a few months followed with Never Like This, her most successful work to date.
Gyakie released an EP, The Seed. late last year which features the popular single, Forever.
“I didn’t have it in my head that this song was the one to give me an international fan base. I was shocked, to some extent, but at the same time I knew the song was good and anybody that would hear the song would fall in love with it. The response has been so amazing.”
Forever is the number 1 song on the Top Triller Chart in Nigeria and she is the first female artist to top the chart.
The remix to the song features Nigerian artist Omah Lay.
The songwriter draws her artistic inspiration from genuine moments of extreme emotion and experiences of people around her.
She has her sights set on collaborating with local South African artists such as Focalistic, Nasty C and AKA.
“For anyone who will be listening to me for the first time, I want them to know that I am an Afrofusion artist. I want music lovers to understand the kind of sounds I want to put out to the rest of the world.”
Asa is one of Gyakie’s major musical influencers. She is also inspired by the likes of Rihanna, Popcaan and Adele as well as Ghanaian artists like Efya.
Gyakie believes that African music is a global sound and wants to use her ability to write and also sing as a way to help shape the culture and show its versatility.
The EP has five tracks: Joy and Happiness, Forever, Wine, Vacation and The Journey.
“Forever is a love song, Wine has this tropical Jamaican reggae feel and Vacation is that song you listen to just to calm your nerves when you are going on a trip with family and friends. The Journey is a song of appreciation for my fans and the people who have been supportive of my music.”
The EP title comes from the fact that Gyakie is proudly her father’s seed.
“For this project being my first, I am planting myself into the music industry. The hard work from my manager and me is watering the seed for it to grow into a flamboyant plant, for it to shine around the world. So this is literally me being planted into the music industry and watering myself to grow.” Her music is available across streaming platforms.
The Star