Sister Nancy Documentary About ‘One Of The Most-Sampled Reggae Songs’ Makes Theater Debut

The Sister Nancy documentary is making its global theater debut.

A documentary spotlighting the woman behind what is often hailed as “one of the most-sampled reggae songs” premiered in theaters on Friday in Toronto, Canada.

Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story, a documentary exploring the life of Jamaican dancehall pioneer and singer Ophlin Russell, famously known as Sister Nancy or Muma Nancy, hit theaters following an exclusive free screening at the TIFF Lightbox on Thursday, Jamaica Gleaner reports. Female empowerment is central to the film and its production, as Alison Duke and Ngardy Conteh George, the Black women founders of OYA Media Group, collaborated to create the documentary.

Duke and George played a pivotal role in uncovering the untold story behind the iconic song “Bam Bam on the Stalag 17 riddim”—and the remarkable woman behind the voice. The documentary is a tribute to Duke’s childhood memories when Sister Nancy was the only female reggae artist who played at the basement parties she attended in Scarborough.

“I just remember, whenever they would drop Sister Nancy, all the women would just go crazy because it was a voice that represented us,” Duke recalled. “And she was badass, and she was competitive, and she sounded good; they wanted to play her over and over again.”

Duke was commissioned to create the film by Moss Raxlen, one of Sister Nancy’s Canadian deejays. Raxlen approached Duke because of her experience producing music documentaries. He believed she was the right person to tell the reggae legend’s story.

The next step was gaining Sister Nancy’s approval. From Duke’s office, Raxlen made the call, and they agreed to proceed with the project. Raxlen later became an associate producer for the film.

One of Duke’s goals in creating the documentary was to celebrate Sister Nancy’s fearless spirit as an older woman still thriving and performing on stage. She combined dynamic tour performances, insightful interviews with industry figures like Janelle Monae, Young Guru, and Pete Rock, and archival footage of the early dancehall scene illustrating Sister Nancy’s enduring prominence in reggae and hip-hop. There are also interviews with Sister Carol, Herbie Miller, Queen Ifrica, Tony Rebel, DJ Kool Herc, and Michie Mee.

The documentary highlights Sister Nancy’s culture-shifting contribution to reggae and how she was left in the dark about the success of “Bam Bam.” Even after its numerous samplings and being included in the cult-classic Hype Williams’ film Belly, Sister Nancy received no royalties from all the sampling that happened with the song, and the original master tapes have still not been found.

The documentary highlights Sister Nancy’s legal battle with producer Winston Riley after her daughter spotted the song in a 2014 Reebok commercial and urged her to take action. The case was settled with Nancy receiving compensation for the previous 10 years and securing 50% ownership of the song’s rights.

Although she couldn’t recover royalties for 32 years, the settlement allowed her to leave her banking career and live off the royalties from the song. The film’s theater debut follows its première at the Tribeca Festival in New York in June 2024.

“I can tell she’s happy with it; I think she loves it because the people love it,” Duke, who talks to Sister Nancy weekly, said after the singer saw the film for the first time at its star-studded premiere.

Duke and her team are talking with a streaming service in Jamaica about the film, which would be seen in Jamaica and maybe the rest of the Caribbean.

“It’s slowly touring around the world. After Toronto, it will be in the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, California; the San Diego Black Film Festival; and festivals in Washington and Italy,” she said.