Guilty Beatz didn’t plan it, but the beat he originally made for Pappy Kojo’s “Thomas Pompoyɛyaw” turned out to be his foot in the door with Beyoncé’s team.
Speaking on the Sincerely Accra Podcast, the Ghanaian producer detailed how a surprise session in Los Angeles, just a day after he landed put him on the spot with over 20 other producers in the room.
“When I landed I was taken straight to a big conference room with other 20 producers. They were passing an aux cable around and asked us to play something,” he recounted.
He admitted he was facing a creative block. “I was having a creative block at the time but when I realised what was happening, I just had to push through. What I remember playing was the instrumentation of Pappy Kojo’s ‘Thomas Pompoyɛyaw’. I played it, and they liked it. I think also because at least it was close to ‘Akwaaba’. I played other beats but I remember playing that one and how they liked it.”
That showcase led to a full studio session with Beyoncé the next day. “They had a direction for what they wanted to do,” he said. “It was like a huge wall, sort of a mood board for music. So they share the vision, look at the pictures, story, and all the other stuff and make music for it.”
Guilty Beatz would later be credited on multiple Beyoncé tracks and projects including “Already” featuring Shatta Wale on “The Lion King: The Gift”. He has gone on to earn a Grammy accredited producer for his works with Beyoncé and Tems.
Watch full interview
