Bleep

“Ain’t no stopping Nancy,” Sister Nancy told us on her 1982 album One, Two, and over four decades later it’s clear she was absolutely right. The first internationally touring female Jamaican deejay is still playing the world’s stages as of 2025, majorly thanks to her eternal dancehall hit ‘Bam Bam’. By multiple accounts it’s “the most sampled reggae song of all time”, used by practically everyone: from Kanye West’s iconically controversial ‘Famous’ to Beyoncé and Jay-Z, in classic hip hop from Lauryn Hill to Madlib, and flipped by electronic producers like LSDXOXO. Ever since Afrika Bambaataa played it at The Roxy, its fate was sealed, its rhythm spread across the globe.

‘Bam Bam’ itself references the iconic ‘Stalag’ riddim from Techniques All Stars, rendered in infectious tropical vibes. After a slow and steady introduction, Nancy’s vocals are drenched in echo as she reasserts ambition as the “only woman DJ with a degree”. The groove is gradually paced with a syrupy bassline, and the occasional hit of horns glues everything together. The ‘Stalag (Version)’ included here highlights that simple yet timelessly effective bass with bustling, decorating it with starry keys, horns, and bustling, splashy drums.

A seminal classic, ‘Bam Bam’ is testament to the cycles that a song can go on, and evidence of the barriers Sister Nancy broke in 1980s Jamaica.