Ghanaian producer GuiltyBeatz has recalled how he landed the opportunity to work with global superstar Beyoncé, revealing that his Thomas Pompoyeyaw beat helped him progress from what felt like an audition stage.

“When I landed that night, I had a session [in something that looked like] a big conference room [with about] 20 producers. I had just landed [and] they took me straight to that conference room,” he narrated.

According to him, once inside the room, an auxiliary cable was passed around, giving each producer a chance to play a beat in hopes of being selected to work with Beyoncé.

Although Beyoncé was not present during the session, GuiltyBeatz said the pressure in the room was intense.

“I was like what kind of pressure is this?” he noted.

Asked whether he was prepared in advance to present what he considered his top three productions, GuiltyBeatz revealed that he unexpectedly hit a creative wall at the time.

“Yeah, I had a music block. I couldn't really create but I had to push through,” he added.

Despite the challenge, he said the instrumental he eventually played was for rapper Pappy Kojo’s Thomas Pompoyeyaw, which immediately caught the attention of the A&R team.

“They said, ‘Oh, we like this beat’. At least it was close to Akwaaba [his previous global hit]. I remember playing that one [among] other beats,” he explained.

Describing how quickly events unfolded, GuiltyBeatz said he found himself in the studio with Beyoncé “literally, the next day”.

He said that Beyoncé’s team had a clear creative direction, revealing they worked with what he described as “a mood board for music,” which helped communicate the “vision for the sound”.

According to him, the producers were instructed to “look at the pictures, you look at the story, and you make music for that”.

GuiltyBeatz made the revelations during a sit-down with Joseph Nti on Sincerely Accra, Ghana’s award-winning podcast co-created and produced by Kwame Asante Ofori.

Akwaaba was a 2018 dance song produced by GuiltyBeatz with Pappy Kojo, Patapaa, and Mr Eazi performing on it. Upon release in March, the song became an instant viral hit in many parts of the world. 

For Beyoncé’s July 2019 The Lion King: The Gift album, GuiltyBeatz produced notable tracks including Already featuring Shatta Wale, Find Your Way Back (Circle of Life), and Keys to the Kingdom featuring Tiwa Savage and Mr Eazi.

In November 2019, Pappy Kojo released a song titled Thomas Pompoyeyaw, performing on the beat GuiltyBeatz used to audition to work with Beyonce. 

More GuiltyBeatz and Beyonce collaborations appeared on the latter's 2022 Renaissance tape. 

Currently, GuiltyBeatz is the architect who builds creative soundscapes to power Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Tem's albums and hit singles.