After Midnight: Gyakie Steps Into Her Next Chapter

When you press play on After Midnight, the debut album from Ghanaian Afro-R&B artist Gyakie, you enter a space exploring love, self-discovery, healing, and vulnerability. The 17 track project features collaborations with 6LACK, Kojey Radical, Headie One, Shatta Wale, and Omar Sterling, among others. The album presents a much more grown and elevated Gyakie than we last heard on her 2022 EP MY DIARY.

Reflecting on this evolution, Gyakie points to a deliberate three-year stretch of growth and learning. “We started working on this project three years ago. I had to learn a great deal; I really wanted to gain knowledge, acquire new ideas, and have a lot of experiences, so that I could draw inspiration to write about many different things,” she explains. The result is an album that blends R&B, Afropop, Highlife, and subtle touches from other genres into a cohesive whole.

Since releasing her debut single, “Love Is Pretty,” in 2019, Gyakie’s path has moved through two EPs: 2021’s Seed and 2022’s My Diary, toward this full length statement. After Midnight is both a milestone and a mirror: reflecting how her talent has evolved across the years.

In this conversation, we dive into the album’s three-year journey, the intentionality behind the music, collaboration, and what comes next.

What space are you in now, and how are you feeling in this moment with the album being out?

It's really a lot of butterflies in my stomach, from the beginning of this year, mainly because the album was going to come out this year. When the year started, I felt excited because I couldn't wait for the day when the entire project would finally be made available for everyone to enjoy. So I've really been in full excitement, since it's my first album coming out. 

‍

How long has the process been in the making for this album? 

We started working on this project three years ago. It's been three years now, and I really can't believe how fast three years have gone by. This is mainly because of how intentional we wanted to be when it comes to every single record on this album, from the first track to the last track.

‍

From the moment you put out my diary to get this point, like, what would you say has been the most significant shift for you, and like, even going from that time and that experience to then making the album, what was the most significant difference for you in that moment?

That would be learning. I had to learn a great deal; I really wanted to gain knowledge, acquire new ideas, and have experiences in various forms, so that I could draw inspiration to write about many different things. When it came to this project,  I took the time to learn a great deal about music, not just my writing, but also production, lyrics, and everything that goes into creating the songs on the project. I had to learn and develop my knowledge and listening skills to create this project in a way that sounds mature, in terms of the lyrics, production, and composition. I really had to put myself in that space within those three years of making the project, to learn more and widen the kind of things I know when it comes to music. 

As an individual, what would you say has been the most significant difference in yourself, in those three years and in that time of making this album?

I like how you put it, because three years ago, I was younger than I am now, and in that space, anybody experiencing three years of life would have so many different things from the past and now. So, as a person, aside from the music, there has been a massive change in so many aspects of my life, and I think that has also influenced the creation of the album so much, and that's why we had to keep going back to the drawing board to make changes in between. That is three years of knowing so much, three years of experiencing so much, and three years of learning and unlearning a lot of things. As for me personally, I've also experienced growth and change, and I've learned a lot about myself in general.

In terms of arriving at the songs that you did for the album, like, how did you come to those final tracks? From when you first started to when you ended up?

When it came to picking up the final tracks that was going to make it, there was one of the most hectic parts of every process around the project, because it's so many good songs that we have, to be able to to be able to take some in and take some out, It was always a difficult situation, So one of the things that we really paid attention to with the songs that actually made it is the song in its entirety. Anything that a particular song is lacking, even if it's a single tiny thing, means that song has to go for the one that has everything in it. It's full perfection to make it. And that's what made it easy at a point, because it was really one of the few difficult things that we had to face when it came to taking some songs out and which one is whose favourite, and this one really wants this one to be in there. So that one took us a minute, but we were finally able to capture the ones that will make it through for this one.

If this is the first time that you're listening to this album, what do you think this album says about you, and what do you want people to take away from this album as they listen to it?

Really and truly, if it is somebody that actually knows me from 2019 from Seed EP and M Diary and the singles that have dropped, like I was mentioning earlier, one of the major things that person will actually spot is the maturity in the sound, how my sound has actually evolved and gotten ten times better, you will listen to the song from the beginning to the end. You'll be able to tell that this has really been put together, really well. Everything was intentional, everything was done so that it would be so perfect, since it's my debut album, and I wanted people around me to be able to tell that I have grown and for them to say she's actually getting way better than she was before. And the people who will listen to the album will also be able to testify, even if they haven't been in a close environment with me. So that is definitely going to be maturity. And the way I always talk about my sound, Afro-fusion, this is a project. This is where people get to hear and feel the name of that genre, because from the intro to the last song, there's a blend and a taste of everybody's favourite genre on this project.

So, even going with “SankofA” as the first single, and that being like the introduction to what's going to be the album. Why did you want to go with that song as the first, the first introduction to what the album's going to be?

It's a personal favourite. It's actually the last song that made it to the album. It really represents my sound in its highest form. If you listen to “Sankofa”, it made sense to bring that out as the first record, so that my audience would have a taste of what to expect on this project with Sankofa.

Which one was like a stand up moment that you had in the time in the studio that you made, if that makes sense?

There's a song called “y2k luv” with Omar Sterling. That song, we really spent a lot of days trying to crack the code of the song. It felt like a puzzle; most of the songs, if I actually started recording, there's a high chance that I'd finish them in the same studio session, or some of them, I would come back the next day and finish. But “y2k luv” was one record that really took a lot of energy out of us in the studio. We spent close to two weeks on it. It was something like recording on one day and then going back another day to find the right things to bring it together. 

‍

Was there a song on the album that challenged you in the aspect of writing, whether you know, whether it was because it was emotional, or for whatever reason?  

There is a song on the album called “is it worth it?” There was a lot of emotion in the studio when I was recording it with the producer, Sosa (SOSAONTHEWAVE). So that has to be the song that really, really hits my emotions when I was writing it, because it was really a song that I was speaking from a personal space. I was speaking about my actual life. So, at that time, the producer wasn't in a good place. So we're having a conversation about life and what he's been going through. We're having conversations around that. That also gave him, the producer, an inspiration for the production to have that kind of emotion. And at that time, too, I also had all those things I said in the song running on my mind, so I put that into the song. 

From when you first started making music to releasing your debut album, what has it meant for you to be in this moment in your career?

It's actually a dream come true. When I started making music, I was waiting for the moment when I would actually drop an album. I released my first EP, Seed, and then MY DIARY, along with a few singles that followed. I have always been looking forward to the day that my album is finally out. So, my entire journey from the beginning till now has really been a dream come true, and to be able to sit back and look at every single thing that I’ve been able to do and how big the future looks from here, it's just dreams that we are witnessing. Just seeing it come to light, you know, when I think about the hard work, the sweat, the good times, and the bad times, there's a lot of emotion behind this whole project. It's really a dream come true to be able to look at everything we've been able to achieve and do, and the things we're even about to do.

‍

And as an individual outside of music, just somebody who has always had this dream and been in the industry for the time that you have been, how does this feel?

If there were that option to see that time of me dropping my first record, “Love is Pretty”,' I can imagine my friend and I really laughing at ourselves. Like, can you actually believe that this is where it has actually gotten to? Sometimes I look at myself in front of the mirror, and I'm just amazed. This whole thing started with me as a student on campus in Kumasi, and look at where it has gotten to now. Sometimes I do speak to myself in front of the mirror, ask myself a few questions, and be like, Girl, can you see where all of this has actually gotten to now? And it's really exciting times for me.

‍

I hope that we're gonna be getting a tour, and we're going to be seeing you perform these songs live.

Yes, we're definitely going on tour. We're definitely going to go on tour after doing an album. Another thing that I've had on my bucket list is touring, and that's going to be next up for me. My people around the world should actually be looking forward and have their ears to the ground for tour dates. And we'll be starting the tour really soon. 

What are you most looking forward to? 

I am looking forward to getting really involved with my fan base, which is small but growing. For the past three years, since I've released a few singles, this album has finally come out. Like I said, we're now about to go on tour, so I can't wait actually to be able to meet my fans. You know, go on tour, do some Meet and Greets. It's another moment. That I've been looking forward to. I'm very excited to be meeting all these amazing people around the world that has been enjoying Gykie music but haven't seen me in person yet. I haven't experienced you in person yet, and that's one thing aside from the album that I'm anticipating and looking forward to.

With After Midnight, Gyakie doesn’t just introduce a debut album, she reintroduces herself. It’s the sound of an artist who has taken her time, embraced growth, and crafted a body of work that carries both her roots and her future. As she prepares to bring these songs to life on stage, Gyakie stands not just at the beginning of a new chapter, but at the height of her readiness to claim her place on the global stage.

‍