RUSSELL, OPHLIN (born Ophlin Russell-Myers, 2 January 1962), DJ, artist, and producer known as “the First Lady of Dancehall” and by her stage names “Sister Nancy” and “Muma Nancy.” A leading figure of contemporary Afro-Caribbean dancehall music, Russell gained prominence in the 1980s with her hit single “Bam Bam,” now considered one of the greatest dancehall songs of all time.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, into a family of fifteen children, Russell learned to deejay on local stages and was influenced by the sound-system culture of Jamaica, in which DJs would play music and toast over instrumental tracks, often engaging the audience in a lively, improvisational manner. In 1979, Winston Riley of the Kingston Storied Techniques record label brought her in to record her first single, “Papa Dean.” In 1982 Russell (as Sister Nancy) released her debut album, One Two, which featured “Bam Bam.” The song’s infectious rhythm (from Ansel Collins’ 1970s dub-reggae song “Stalag Riddim”), catchy melody, and Russell’s confident improvisational delivery propelled the song to international success. “Bam Bam” gained popularity in New York at the height of the Caribbean diaspora with the emergence of hip-hop and rap, and it has been sampled by numerous artists and featured in various movies, TV shows, and commercials. Russell remains an influential figure in the dancehall and reggae scenes, admired for her contributions to the genre and her pioneering role as a female artist in a male-dominated industry.
Russell now works in the banking industry in New Jersey, but much of her music continues to be sampled. Kanye West, for example, used her music in his 2016 single “Famous,” and Seth Rogan used “Bam Bam” as the soundtrack to an infamous scene in The Interview (2016) that depicts a nude Kim Jong-un. Russell has also been listed as an active composer and collaborator on notable albums of recent vintage: Jay-Z’s 4:44 (2017), Beyoncé’s Homecoming: The Live Album (2019), Ariana Grande’s k bye for now (2019), and Janelle Monáe’s The Age of Pleasure (2023). In an interview, she stated, “Good music .. . will last. Even when I go where I’m supposed to go, my daughter’s gonna say: that’s mummy’s Bam Bam.”