Born in
Kingston, Jamaica, Russell was one of 15 siblings. Her elder brother, Robert, is better known as
Brigadier Jerry, and by her mid-teens, she would occasionally perform on the
Twelve Tribes of Israel soundsystem
Jahlovemuzik sound system that she worked with, Sister Nancy was born in a conservative household in Kingston. She was expected to perform conservative duties such as being an elder of the community and promote socially conservative values such as staying in the household, be drug-free, and family oriented. Early on, she rebelled against her traditional values and followed her brother Brigadier Jerry in DJing. She was repeatedly dissuaded from DJing and encouraged to pursue Christian music by her father. In 1980, producer
Winston Riley was the first to take her into the studio, resulting in her first single, "Papa Dean" for his Techniques label. In 1996, she relocated to
New Jersey.
The Observer cited Russell a role model for a successive generation of female acts, including
Lady Saw,
Sister Carol,
Macka Diamond,
Lady G, Shelly Thunder, Carla Marshall, Lorna G, Lady English, and Lady P. This seems to coincide with Cooper's thoughts that dancehall music liberated women from "repressive respectability and conservative gender ideologies." Rastawomen singers are free to act and say as they please on stage, in most situations. Upon its original release, "Bam Bam" never fully caught-on as a hit in Jamaica, but has been a fixture in other genres of music ever since. While the song was originally recorded in 1966 by
Toots and the Maytals, it is Sister Nancy's version that is so often sampled in various genres. R. Henry Gordon, N. N. McCarthy and Frederick "Toots" Hibbert hold the copyright to the original version of the song, but were never compensated for royalties, either, for use of the song by Sister Nancy or any artist who sampled her successive versions. In 2016 Sister Nancy retired from being a bank accountant in New Jersey so she could pursue music and performing. She played at
Rebel Salute 2017 in Jamaica in January as well as played at
Brooklyn Bowl in New York on 25 May 2017. In her interview with
HOT 97 she stated that she planned to do more shows in the coming future. In 2024 she was the subject of
Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story, a documentary film by Canadian filmmaker
Alison Duke.
Collaborations and samples Sister Nancy collaborated with
Thievery Corporation on the song "Originality" for the 2006 compilation album
Versions. She also collaborated with
DJ /rupture and
Kid 606 on the "Little More Oil" single in 2006. Sister Nancy's classic "Bam Bam" has been re-recorded and sampled over 80 times since its release in 1982 including: • "Badd" by
Stylo G in 2013. • "
Famous" by
Kanye West on the album
The Life of Pablo (2016). • "Bam" featuring
Damian Marley on the
Jay-Z album
4:44 (2017). • Unknown track by
Main Source in 1996. • Canadian producer
RCola brought Sister Nancy into
Liondub's studio to re-sing her classic "Bam Bam", released in 2007 as a
drum and bass dancefloor remix "A What A Bam Bam (Remixes)" on 12" vinyl with Division One remix on the AA side. • In 2007, Sister Nancy voiced a dubplate of her "Bam Bam" with new lyrics for
Atlanta ragga/drum and bass DJ Tester. • Canadian/American producer
Krinjah published a 12" vinyl single "Bam Bam (Remix)" in 2001, which helped start off the ragga-jungle revival in North America. ==Personal life==