Kelvyn Boy’s 2nd Step: seven years after the Burniton split, the “wounded lion” is back with a 12-song album

Kelvyn Boy released his new album, 2nd Step, on 25 September 2026. It has 12 songs and runs about 35 minutes, and it opens with a track called "Jehova", produced by Genius Selection. The album is credited ℗ 2026 Blakk Arm Entertainment, under exclusive licence to Ziiki Media.

He first described the record in May, on The Big Conversation on 3Music TV, when he announced it as "Second Step". "You're getting a wounded lion with a bit of love," he said, as reported by Citi Newsroom and The Ghana Report.

From the pubs to Burniton

Kelvyn Boy was born Kelvyn Brown in Assin Fosu, in the Central Region. He told Billboard in 2020 that his father sang in a church choir and raised him on gospel, reggae and Lucky Dube, that he was singing in pubs in Assin Fosu at 19, and that his father warned him: "You're not going to get money. I did music and got nothing."

He was signed to Stonebwoy's Burniton Music Group. Billboard and Graphic Online give different years for the deal, so QMS does not state one. On 14 April 2018 he won Unsung Artiste of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards (VGMA). In September 2019 the label announced it had parted ways with him (Burniton's statement was dated 24 September; Graphic reported it the next day).

In February 2022 he told MyJoyOnline that Stonebwoy "put me on and I will always appreciate it."

Starting again

After the split he released his music through Blakk Arm Entertainment, which Billboard described as his "new label home". His album Blackstar came out on 6 November 2020 with 15 tracks. Billboard reported that it took three years and was recorded on a mobile studio while he toured Belgium, the UK and Australia. In the same interview he said: "I want to take Ghana to the Grammys."

In June 2021, speaking about the VGMA's Afrobeats category, he told MyJoyOnline: "Everyone knows that I started campaigning for that category before they put it in." That is his own account.

Down Flat

"Down Flat", produced by KullBoiBeatz, came out on 28 January 2022. A dance routine to the song spread on TikTok, with newsreaders, actresses and wedding guests joining the challenge. It won Best Highlife Song at the 2023 Ghana Music Awards, and by February 2026 it had passed 25 million Spotify streams, according to the chart-data site Kworb.

He later wrote on X, as quoted by Citi Newsroom in February 2024: "All my songs before 'Down Flat' ensured there was food on the table, but 'Down Flat' changed my life."

Excellent

In December 2024 he appeared on "Excellent" by the newcomer KOJO BLAK, produced by Ugly & Tough and released on 12 December 2024. The single is credited ℗ 2024 Blue Magic/Encore Recordings, not Kelvyn Boy's label. Speaking to Radio Univers in March 2025, Kelvyn Boy said KOJO BLAK had wanted to give him the song "to drop as my own", and that he told him, "it's your song."

The song became KOJO BLAK's breakout. A remix with Joeboy and King Promise followed in June 2025. At the 27th Telecel Ghana Music Awards in 2026, "Excellent" won Best Afrobeats Song and KOJO BLAK won Best New Artiste, according to the awards' official winners archive. On 3 November 2026, "Excellent" was the top song on the Popular list of Kelvyn Boy's own Spotify page, above "Down Flat".

2nd Step

The two are together again on the album's "Weather For 2" (feat. KOJO BLAK), produced by Ugly and Tough, which first came out as a single on 3 April 2026. Medikal features on "Allo" and Kuami Eugene on "All Over". Apple Music credits Boaze for "Allo" and "Pioneer", which came out ahead of the album, Afro engine for "Ability", KO for "1942" and Nafa for "Hallelujah".

On 3 November 2026 Kelvyn Boy had 400,336 monthly listeners on Spotify, and "Allo" was fourth on his Popular list. Apple Music's editorial notes describe gratitude as a theme of the album.

THE COUNT is a QMS show about the numbers and the stories behind Ghanaian music. This story is based on the episode's fact check.