Ghanaian Afrobeats singer Gyakie has urged emerging female musicians to refuse sexual advances from producers and managers in exchange for opportunities, warning that such compromises can damage both careers and personal wellbeing.
Speaking on the “On The Line Podcast”, the “Forever” hitmaker said young women coming into the industry must be clear about their principles and avoid feeling obliged to trade intimacy for studio time, stage slots or professional support.
“My advice to female artists is, don’t settle for less, and don’t be sleeping with people that you work with. Don’t be doing that, whether it’s your producer, your manager, your team, your creative director, or anybody that you have a working relationship with,” she said.
Gyakie stressed that while romantic relationships can naturally develop between people who work together closely, there is a clear difference between a consensual partnership and a situation where a woman feels she has to engage in sex to secure career progress.
Protecting values over quick opportunities
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The singer pointed out that some artists are led to believe that sexual relationships with gatekeepers are a necessary step to success, but argued that this mindset often leads to long-term complications and regret.
“If your manager is your husband, that is a different situation,” she said, drawing a distinction between existing personal relationships and transactional encounters.
“But the one where you have to do that to get a slot on stage or get a song produced for free, if that’s your mentality, you’re going to get into trouble in the future. If you have the talent, keep doing it. Don’t settle for less.”
Gyakie encouraged upcoming acts to trust in their abilities rather than seeing sex as a shortcut to visibility, adding that true progress should be built on talent, work ethic and professionalism rather than exploitation.
She indicated that saying no to inappropriate demands can be difficult for artists desperate for a breakthrough, but insisted that setting firm boundaries from the outset is essential to building a sustainable career.
Unreleased intimate songs ‘too explicit’ for now
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Away from her industry advice, Gyakie also revealed that she has recorded a number of unreleased tracks that are significantly more intimate than her current catalogue and are expressly intended for adult listening.
“I have a couple of songs that are extremely intimate. They’re for bedroom activities. Those ones have not come out yet,” she admitted.
“I feel like I have to tap into a very bold realm for those tracks to come out. Those are some of the records that, after I finish making them, I have to hold on to for a while because they’re too explicit.”
The singer suggested that releasing such material would require her to embrace a more daring side of her artistry and be fully comfortable with the reactions it might provoke.
For now, she said, those songs will remain in her vault until she feels ready to present that bolder persona to the public, as she continues to balance artistic experimentation with how she wishes to be perceived by her audience.
