Sister Nancy says Jay-Z “did the right thing” when he sampled her legendary track “Bam Bam.”
In an interview with Billboard about her documentary Bam Bam: The Story of Sister Nancy, the dancehall pioneer explained why Jay-Z’s “Bam” from his 2017 album 4:44 stands out as her favorite use of the song.
“The reality of him taking me with him to shoot the video in Jamaica was amazing. I really appreciated that,” the 63-year-old shared. “Everybody has sampled the song, but he chose to take me with him. Jay-Z is my No. 1. He did the right thing. Everybody else was cheap; they didn’t even think about me.”
She added, “At the time, I had just left my accounting job at the bank, so it meant a lot.”
According to Billboard, the documentary follows Sister Nancy’s rise from Jamaica’s first female dancehall DJ to an international icon, as well as the enduring impact of “Bam Bam,” one of the most sampled tracks in music history.
The film also delves into her long legal fight to reclaim royalties from unauthorized uses of the song — a battle that began in 2014 after she discovered her voice in a Reebok commercial.
“I was in my bedroom, my daughter was in the living room, and she said, ‘Mommy, look at this!’” Sister Nancy recalled. “I saw this Australian girl [model Miranda Kerr] all over the television, and I thought, ‘They’ve been doing so much with my song, and I can’t even buy a pack of cigarettes.’ I couldn’t even buy a Heineken, which I used to love so much.
“Working my 9 to 5 at the bank was rough, and my daughter was in high school at the time. I had to depend on my mother so much as well,” she continued. “I’m so sorry she’s not here to reap what she sowed—because I didn’t sow it, she did. 2014 is when I decided to fight for what is mine. And nobody complained because they knew I deserved it. They basically just gave me what I was owed.”
In a 2018 interview with NME, Sister Nancy also reflected on hearing “Bam Bam” sampled on Kanye West’s “Famous” from The Life of Pablo.
“Whatever way he takes it, it’s very good for me because it keeps me moving. Do you know what I’m saying? It keeps me working,” she said.
