Boistory’s first posthumous album, doesn’t feel like a final goodbye, but instead a continued look inside his world. The late Ghanaian-Nigerian singer seems to speak across time, continuing to usher people from outside the margins into his crystallised world of vulnerability and creative freedom. It’s an ambitious encore for an artist whose legacy is still unfolding. You can see the devotion of his collaborator, producer Rvdical The Kid, poured into the result: a bittersweet reminder of boistory’s unparalleled talent that is, above all, a joy to hear.
At its core, the album moves like a video game: shadowy, cinematic, and emotionally charged. 123…Arcade! builds a world where memory, body, and imagination collide, channelling the heart-racing energy of the after hours into songs that feel confessional and guided by fierce emotion. The result is a vibrant collection of music that offers a final glimpse of boistory’s meteoric talent, authentic expression, and incandescent life force, through the creative language of his collaborator, producer Rvdical The Kid (Tems, Amaarae, Nonso Amadi). Together, they bring a blistering, fearless energy to every minute of the project.
“There won’t be anyone else like boistory … When I first heard his voice, I instantly knew that I wanted to work with him. So now that the music is finally here, and even though he’s not, I’m excited for you guys to get to see and hold on to how amazing he really was.” – Rvdical The Kid
Boistory navigates the highs of freewheeling youth, the lows of heartbreak and loss, and the inner battles that come with it, all while staying rooted in the cultures that raised him. “He’s the kind of person who is effortlessly deep, like profound,” Rvdical explains. “He can talk about things that are deeply personal quite easily—they’re not very heavy for him. People just naturally gravitated to him.”
Rvdical The Kid’s production expands the reach of boistory’s alternative vision, shifting between dark 80s synths and temperamental R&B grooves with colour, grit, and play.
The focus track, “2AM in Lagos”, exemplifies this concept, beginning with a pulsing electronic rhythm before swelling into a moody Alté undercurrent. Gloriously fierce, self-possessed, and unruly, boistory threads together tenderness, rage, and release; each track reveals another piece of the larger puzzle and new dimensions to the late artist. A final showcase of the unmistakable fervour, hope and all-on-the-table abandon that he put into his craft. Play it loud and lose yourself, and remember boistory as a shooting star whose light shines on
