Sister Nancy (a.k.a. Ophlin Russell) stands as a pioneering force in Jamaican dancehall as both a DJ and singer. She shattered barriers as the first female dancehall DJ, carving her path in a genre dominated by men. Nancy was also the first woman to perform at the Jamaican Reggae Sunsplash festival, and the first female Jamaican DJ to tour internationally.
In the late 70s, Nancy was working as a DJ for Kingston's Stereophonic sound system when she met reggae producer Winston Riley. Recognizing her talent, Riley took Nancy under his wing. He guided her into the studio, resulting in the dancehall DJ's debut single, "Papa Dean," released under Riley's Techniques label.
By 1982, Sister Nancy stood on the cusp of completing her debut album, One, Two, at Channel One Studios. Realizing that she needed one final song to complete the record, Nancy approached the microphone. Backed by a band that included the legendary rhythm section of Sly and Robbie, she freestyled "Bam Bam" over the backdrop of Ansell Collins' "Stalag 17."
Nancy's lyrics celebrate her success as a woman in the male-dominated dancehall scene of the '80s.
Toots and the Maytals introduced the phrase "bam bam" in 1966 after they won Jamaica's National Popular Song Contest that year with their song "Bam Bam." Roots reggae artists and dancehall vocalists later wove the phrase into their lyrics. "Bam bam" refers to the sound of a gunshot.
For Sister Nancy, the inspiration to embrace the phrase came when she overheard Yellowman and Fathead record their own version of "Bam Bam" in another studio.
Sister Nancy's "Bam Bam" is one of the most sampled reggae songs of all time, starting in 1992 with Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's "The Basement." Other tracks that have sampled or interpolated "Bam Bam" include:
Lauryn Hill's "Lost Ones"
Kanye West's "
Famous"
Jay-Z's "
Bam"
Tamar Braxton's "
Run, Run"
This was used on the TV series Ozark in the 2022 episode "The Beginning of the End." The song also plays in a nightclub in the 2008 "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" episode of Dexter.
It was also features in these movies:
Belly (1998)
The Interview (2014)
Sister Nancy didn't know how popular "Bam Bam" was outside Jamaica until she moved to the US in 1996. She was surprised to hear her song in the 1998 movie Belly and only then recognized how influential it had become.
Realizing she had not received any credit or royalties for the song since it came out 16 years earlier, Nancy reached out to her producer, Winston Riley, in an attempt to rectify the situation. But alas, her efforts were met with disappointment. Despite her persistence, Riley remained elusive, evading any attempts to meet or engage in meaningful dialogue. It became painfully clear to Sister Nancy that he had deliberately kept her in the dark, aware that she would eventually demand the financial compensation rightfully owed to her.
In 2014, Sister Nancy's daughter pointed out that the song was playing on the TV in a Reebok commercial. This prompted Sister Nancy to seek legal advice and guidance on properly obtaining rights to her own music. She was eventually able to reach a settlement with her record label, which resulted in her receiving back pay for royalties and 50% ownership of the song.
"Bam Bam" ranks #454 on Rolling Stone's 2021 edition of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." The list was compiled by a panel of music critics and experts, and it was based on a number of factors, including the song's impact on popular culture, its critical acclaim, and its commercial success.
