Success can be a double-edged sword, and for Ghanaian music sensation Gyakie, it came sharply after the world fell in love with her chart-topping hit “Forever”. In a candid interview with BBC Africa, Gyakie opened up about the intense pressure she faced early in her career a pressure that often left her reaching for tissues instead of microphones.
“When I’m pressured or shouted at, I’ll grab a tissue and cry,” she admitted. “At the start of my career, I would cry at home almost every three days because the expectations were just too much. Especially after “Forever” blew up. The bar was set so high, and the demand to produce another hit came at me like a storm.”
And what a storm it was. As fans, critics, and even her management held her under a microscope, Gyakie found herself juggling the highs of stardom with the weight of expectation. “It’s good when pressure feels like motivation,” she reflected, “but it’s completely different when it feels like something else. Add negative criticisms especially ones that don’t come from a good place and it can really mess with your peace of mind.”
The criticisms were relentless, yet Gyakie didn’t crumble. Instead, she grew. “It took me a while to stop letting it get to me,” she said. “Now, I could read anything about myself even outright lies and I’d just think, ‘Somebody pass me a glass of water because, let’s be honest, the country is already hard.’”That’s the kind of energy we need in life: unbothered and hydrated.
Gyakie’s journey from teary-eyed newcomer to self-assured artist is a testament to resilience. It’s like learning to dance in the rain when the storm refuses to let up. The young star turned the pressure cooker of fame into a kitchen of creativity, reminding us all that diamonds aren’t made without a little heat.
So, the next time you’re tempted to criticize someone from the comfort of your couch, think about how they’ll feel. After all, as Gyakie so brilliantly put it, “The country is already hard” why not make it a little softer with kindness?
