Ghanaian dancehall star Kaakie has earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) qualification and launched a mental health practice in the United States, marking a major new chapter in her career beyond music.

The musician, born Grace Kaki Awo Ocansey, is now professionally known as Dr. Grace Aidoo, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC. She recently introduced Kaylora Holistic Wellness & Recovery, a US-based mental health practice providing psychiatric and therapeutic services.

In announcing the practice, Kaakie said her approach is centered on compassionate and individualised care, with attention to the broader circumstances of each client rather than focusing solely on a diagnosis.

Kaylora's services include psychiatric evaluations, medication management, ADHD care, treatment for anxiety and depression, bipolar disorder care, trauma and PTSD support, psychotherapy, couples’ therapy, and child and adolescent psychiatric care, as well as court-ordered psychiatric and DUI evaluations. The practice also offers telehealth services.

From nursing to dancehall

Kaakie's latest achievement brings her career full circle, having started out in healthcare before becoming one of Ghana's prominent female dancehall artistes.

She studied nursing and midwifery at the University of Ghana and gained public attention after participating in the television music competition Stars of the Future, where she finished fifth.

Her appearance on the competition eventually led to a professional music career. She later connected with producer JMJ and signed with Xtra Large Music, establishing herself as a major force in Ghana's dancehall scene.

Kaakie recorded several popular songs during her music career, including "Ewoo," "Too Much," "Toffee Pon Tongue," and "Zuuchia." She also won Best New Artiste of the Year and Reggae/Dancehall Song of the Year at the 2013 Ghana Music Awards.

Even at the height of her music career, she continued to work in healthcare. In a 2014 interview with Graphic Showbiz, she spoke about the challenge of balancing her work as a registered general nurse with her music career.

Returning to healthcare

Kaakie eventually stepped away from music to focus more extensively on healthcare and further education.

She earned a master's degree from Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom in 2019. In 2020, she explained in an interview with Joy FM that her desire to contribute to healthcare, particularly in the area of maternal health, had become stronger than her desire to continue making music.

Her professional journey later shifted toward mental health.

In 2025, she announced that she had earned a Master of Science in Nursing with a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialisation from Walden University.

Her latest qualification takes that journey another step forward, with her Doctor of Nursing Practice placing her at the doctoral level of nursing education.

Professional listings identify Dr. Grace Aidoo as a board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner and associate her with Kaylora Holistic Wellness & Recovery.

A new professional identity

The launch of Kaylora represents a significant transformation for an artiste who became widely known for her energetic performances and contribution to Ghana's dancehall movement in the early 2010s.

While Kaakie's music career established her public profile, her latest work places healthcare and mental well-being at the centre of her professional identity.

Her journey from nursing student to dancehall star, and now to a doctoral-level mental health practitioner and healthcare entrepreneur, has connected two areas that have defined different stages of her life.

For fans who remember her as Ghana's "Dancehall Queen," the emergence of Dr. Grace Aidoo signals a new chapter in the career of one of the country's most distinctive female entertainers.