Bam Bam: In the Sister Nancy Story, an Artist Finally Gets Her Due

By Liz Braun

Rating: B+

It’s a privilege to spend 90 minutes with Sister Nancy.

The Jamaican dancehall queen is the subject of Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story, a hugely energetic documentary about an artist finally getting her due.

Sister Nancy — real name Ophlin Russell — recorded a song called “Bam Bam” in 1982, a song done first by Toots & The Maytals in 1966.

“Bam Bam” — Sister Nancy’s version — came to be known as a sort of reggae anthem, and in the 40 years since she recorded it, the song has been sampled over 100 times by other artists. Those artists include Lauryn Hill, Lizzo, Main Source, Chris Brown, Kanye West, Beyonce and Jay-Z, among dozens of others.

Sister Nancy was aware that other artists were using her material, and she wasn’t getting any royalties or recognition, but it wasn’t until 2014 that she decided to do something about it.

She’s not the first recording artist to be cheated out of royalties. Her story, however, has a happier resolution than most.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. What Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story shows is that the royalty debacle is one negative sidebar in an otherwise successful and lengthy career.

Award-winning filmmaker Alison Duke has a wealth of material to work with in telling Sister Nancy’s story: archival film from Jamaica, performance footage, interviews with other artists and terrific re-enactments, and it’s the story of a woman with an outsized talent.

And an outsized personality. Sister Nancy is often called a pioneer by others in this movie, a title she earned by busting into the male-dominated dancehall scene in Jamaica, as a teenager in the 1970s.

According to Sister Carol, herself one of the dancehall era’s rare female DJs, Sister Nancy was fearless; Miss Pat Chin, whose indie label VP Records brought reggae and dancehall to the rest of the world, attests to the thrill of first hearing Sister Nancy’s powerful voice when so few women were part of the scene.

It was musician-producer Winston Riley who hustled Sister Nancy into a recording studio in Jamaica, where one of the singles they made, “One Two,” launched her career.

(Later in the movie, Janelle Monae cheerfully boasts that she has a copy of “One Two” in her extensive vinyl collection.)

Sister Nancy began to travel from Jamaica to far-flung places (including Canada) to perform on the strength of “One Two,” and in a sense, she never stopped. Now in her 60s, she still travels the globe to perform to huge and enthusiastic audiences.

Even in the years she worked 9 to 5 as an accountant while raising her daughter, Sister Nancy still travelled weekends to Europe or Israel to do a show.

Filmmaker Duke really leaves the best for last, and the third act of Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story is a trip to witness. Sister Nancy was 20 when she recorded “Bam Bam;” four decades later, she pursues her rightful royalties.

In the process, she also meets up with the musicians in Soul Syndicate, the guys who played on the 1982 “Bam Bam” track.

It’s an exhilarating segment. As Sister Nancy says, it feels as if her career is just beginning.

For reggae/hip-hop fans, Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story, is likely a must-see proposition; for the uninitiated, it’s a great introduction to a formidable female artist. Kudos to Duke for a film that will appeal to both.

Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story. Written and directed by Alison Duke. With Sister Nancy, Janelle Monae, Pete Rock, Renee Neufville, Michie Mee, and Kool DJ Red Alert. In theatres January 31 and streaming on Crave as of February 17.