Sally Boss Madam
Sally Ephraim Keya, professionally known first as "Sally" and later as "Sally Boss Madam", is a Namibian Afro-fusion singer and performer. Her music has won top awards at the Namibian Annual Music Awards in two different musical genres: soukous/kwasa and Afropop. She was also named Best Female Artist in Southern Africa at the 2016 All Africa Music Awards.
Early life
Sally Boss Madam was born and raised in Katutura, a township five km north of Windhoek created when the local government between 1959 and 1964 forcibly moved Windhoek's entire black population there. She took part in church choirs and began being asked to sing solos when she was eight years old. In her teens, she started playing a keyboard and singing background vocals for other performers.In 2010, she married Bosley Keya, a music producer and DJ also known as DJ Kboz. The pair had met in 2008. The couple have one son and were in 2017 named "favorite celebrity couple of the year" at the Simply You Magazine Lifestyle and Fashion Awards. In 2020, however, they announced that they would end their marriage but continue their musical collaboration.
Music career
Sally Boss Madam and her husband DJ Kboz worked together for three years on her first album Courage before its release in 2012. One song from that album "Boss Madam" "skyrocketed to the top of each and every music countdown" according to The Namibian and became a feminist anthem.In 2013, she won the Namibian Annual Music Awards in the category "Best Soukous/Kwasa".
Her second album I Am Mukwanekamba, released in 2016, included a range of African musical styles including percussion. It was also in 2016 that her single "Natural" won the All Africa Music Award for Best Female Artist in Southern Africa.
Her 2017 album My Black got positive reviews that also commented on its range of genres, with The Namibian citing its "varying sounds from soukous, dancehall, gospel, house and an overall urban vibe" while another review mentions also rhythm and blues plus Afro-pop. The song "What You Say" from this album was nominated for the 2018 African Music Industry's Afrika People's Choice award in the category Best Female Southern Artist.
Discography
Albums
- Courage
- I Am Mukwanekamba
- My Black
- ''Lucky Girl''
Singles
- "Bim Bim" ft Bussiwa
- "Natural"
- "What You Say"
- "Fasuluka"