Playing for keeps

Showbiz couple Sally Ephraim and Bosley Keya, aka DJ Kboz, have been married for three years. The two have become a force to be reckoned, thanks to his wonderful beats and her undeniable talent. They met in 2008 and liked each other instantly. However, they had to put their feelings on hold, as they were both in relationships at the time. Destiny, however, would have the last say. After eventually ending up together, the two tied the knot during an intimate wedding in Karibib in 2010. Since then, they have steered clear of negative publicity during a time when other showbiz relationships have crashed onto the rocks. Kboz was born in Nairobi, Kenya before moving to Canada where his dad was finishing off his studies. He moved with his father to Namibia in 1998 and has stayed here ever since. Sally was born and raised in Windhoek and proudly reveals that she was raised in “Wambo Lokasie” in Katutura. Asked what attracted her to Kboz, Sally says: “He is hardworking, very kind, not afraid to take risks and loves music, like I do. His dream was similar to mine and he supported me through everything I did and always encouraged me to be better. And he has a way of just loving you unconditionally. The rest is history,” she says. Kboz says they used to spend hours chatting about “anything and everything” and says that Sally never judged his shortcomings. “When you have a woman who stands by you, even at your lowest moment in life, and she still sees the best in you, then she is a keeper”. Asked how they juggle being in the entertainment industry and being married, Kboz says they are grounded by the fact that they have a common vision. “At the end of the day you cannot survive if you have different visions. The fact that we are in the same business makes it easier for both of us to balance our work and our time together. We don’t have issues about that, because we know when it’s time to work and when it’s time to play. And when you have chemistry it comes easy,” he says. Asked whether they intend on expanding their family, Kboz jokes that their son LJ is “already like three kids in one”. LJ celebrates his second birthday today. The both reveal that he is their bundle of joy and say they are excited just to see him grow. Despite being a mother and a wife, Sally is known for her fierce and sexy stage presence. Asked whether that bothers him, Kboz says it was actually his idea that Sally should be commanding on stage. “Actually I’m the one who insisted on her doing that. When I discovered Sally’s wild and commanding side, I said to her ‘to hell with slow boring music, you need to get feisty on that stage woman’. I told her that every female artist in the country is either holding a guitar or doing ballads. We still do not have that commanding artist that can make women feel strength and power. That gap is open and Sally fits the role quite well. So she took it on, and as I predicted, it worked,” he says. The two admit that sometimes they do disagree about what Sally should perform. They explain that her feminist anthem Boss Madam is always a must, as is her party hit song Rumbasa. They worked on Sally’s album Courage for almost three years, as they were determined to find the right sound. Kboz explains that they knew the title track Boss Madam would be a hit. “We knew it would be a huge song, because of the message behind it and the style of the music. It was unique and had never been done before in any part of the world. The way it stood out, we knew we had something here. And when Munyah, our international promoter, called us to tell us Boss Madam had gone wild in Uganda, we finally started seeing the fruits of our hard work,” Kboz said. Sally is in no rush to release a new album, but fans are in for a treat, as she will be releasing a video for Rumbasa soon. While the couple are part of local musical royalty, they insist that their most important roles are being parents to their son and loving partners to one another. Windhoek Gordon Joseph