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Imagine walking into a lecture hall hoping to be just another student, only to have the lecturer casually announce that a celebrity is sitting in the room. Suddenly, keeping a low profile becomes mission impossible.
For Ghanaian songstress Gyakie, that was not a movie scene. It was part of her university experience.
The “Forever” hitmaker has opened up about the rather awkward reality of becoming famous while still studying at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Appearing on the Group Chat Podcast with Nana Aba Anamoah, Gyakie reflected on the period when her music career began taking off during her final years at university. What had once been a relatively quiet student life quickly turned into a strange combination of lectures, studio sessions and unexpected celebrity treatment.
Being famous, she admitted, did not exactly make sitting through lectures any easier.
With her music career gathering serious momentum, Gyakie found herself increasingly distracted from the academic routine. The excitement surrounding her growing career made it difficult to maintain the same enthusiasm for sitting through long lectures and absorbing course material.
Then came the lecturers.
Rather than allowing her to disappear quietly into the crowd, some lecturers began acknowledging her celebrity status in front of the entire class. Gyakie recalled moments when a lecturer would walk into the room, point her out and remind everyone that a famous musician was sitting among them.
And just like that, she was no longer simply Gyakie the student. She was Gyakie the student who apparently needed to know the answer.
That was where things could get painfully awkward.
The attention might have sounded flattering, but there was nothing glamorous about being singled out in front of an entire lecture hall and then drawing a blank when the lecturer asked a question.
Fame may come with fans, applause and recognition, but apparently it can also come with surprise examinations.
Away from the classroom spotlight, Gyakie was facing another major challenge: time.
Her music career demanded long studio hours, sometimes starting around 6:00 PM, while university lectures could begin as early as 7:00 AM. Trying to balance both worlds became an exhausting daily routine.
At some point, the pressure became so intense that Gyakie began considering whether dropping out of school might be the easier option.
But there was one powerful force keeping her enrolled: her parents.
The thought of facing their reaction apparently provided enough motivation for her to keep going. So, despite the hectic schedule, the distractions and the occasional classroom embarrassment, Gyakie stayed the course and eventually completed her studies.
Her university journey is a reminder that overnight fame does not come with an automatic exemption from student problems.
You can have a hit song, thousands of fans and a rapidly rising music career, but when a lecturer calls your name and asks for the answer, you are still just a student standing in front of the class.
