’He did the right thing’: Sister Nancy lauds Jay-Z’s ‘Bam Bam’ as her favorite

The dancehall legend’s upcoming documentary arrives later this year.

Widely credited for crafting one of dancehall’s transcendent hits, Sister Nancy is set to receive her flowers with a brand new documentary, all while looking back at her innovative single.

In “Bam Bam: The Story of Sister Nancy,” the 63-year-old, considered to be Jamaica’s first female dancehall DJ, takes fans on a journey through the ups and downs of her career, culminating in a landmark legal victory to win back years of unpaid royalties due to unauthorized samples. According to “Who Sampled,” there are over 155 songs in existence that have sampled or interpolated “Bam Bam”, from Lauryn Hill’s “Lost Ones” to Janelle Monáe’s “Water Slide,, Kriss Kross’ “I’m Real,” Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa’s “Bomb” and more.

In a recent interview with “Billboard,” Sister Nancy explains why out of all the various samples of “Bam Bam,” she champions Jay-Z’s rendition of “Bam” alongside Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley as her absolute favorite.

“The reality of him taking me with him to shoot the video in Jamaica was amazing,” Sister Nancy said. “I really appreciated that. 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. At the time, I had just left my accounting job at the bank, so it meant a lot.”

Sister Nancy migrated to the United States in 1996 and says she heard “Bam Bam” for the first time via Hype Williams’ 1998 film, Belly. However, the legal fight to secure her rightful financial compensation wouldn’t occur until nearly sixteen years later.

“I heard the song playing in a Reebok commercial,” Nancy began. “I was in my bedroom, my daughter was in the living room, and she said, ‘Mommy, look at this!’ 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.”

She continued, “Working my 9-5 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; 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.”

Watch the trailer to Bam Bam: The Story of Sister Nancy above and check out the timeless version of Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” below.