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Sister Nancy was
born Ophlin Russell on January
2, 1962 in Kingston, Jamaica.
She is a dancehall DJ and
singer known to the world as the
first female dancehall DJ and
was described as being a
"dominating female voice for
over two decades" on the
dancehall scene. One of her most
famous songs is "Bam Bam",
labeled as a "well-known reggae
anthem" by BBC and a "classic"
by The Observer.
Sister Nancy 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
Jahlove Music sound system that
he worked with, and worked for
three years on the Stereophonic
sound system with General Echo.
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. Sister
Nancy went on to perform at
Reggae Sunsplash, making her the
first female deejay ever to
perform there, and she is also
the first female Jamaican deejay
to tour internationally. She had
further success with singles
such as "One Two", "Money Can't
Buy Me Love", "Transport
Connection" and "Bam Bam".
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Her debut album, One Two, was
released in 1982. She went on to
work with producer Henry "Junjo"
Lawes, recording "A No Any Man
Can Test Sister Nancy", "Bang
Belly", and a collaboration with
Yellowman, "Jah Mek Us Fe A
Purpose". She continued to
appear live, sometimes on
Jahlove Music with her brother.
The sound system toured
internationally, with both
Sister Nancy and Brigadier Jerry
making their debut UK
performances at the Brixton Town
Hall, London in 1982.
In 1996, she relocated to New
Jersey. In an interview with The
Jamaica Observer in 2002, Sister
Nancy said that although she was
working in the banking sector,
that "music is [her] first love"
and said she still performs
"every now and then". She
explained that her absence from
the recording scene was due to
her wanting to "give other
female artists a chance", though
she said she was still "as ready
as the first day [she] came into
the business". The Observer
cited Sister Nancy as a role
model for a successive
generation of female acts,
including Lady Saw, Sister
Carol, Mack Diamond, Lady G,
Shelly Thunder, Carla Marshall,
Lorna G, Lady English, and Lady
P. In 2007, Russell-Myers
released the second of her two
albums, Sister Nancy Meets
Fireproof, produced by djMush1,
formerly of the Slackers (NYC
Ska) on Special Potato Records.
The album was distributed by
Jammyland Records in New York,
NY. The album features four
original compositions, as well
as four instrument versions of
the aforementioned songs.
Listen to the music of
Sister Nancy
Sister Nancy Links:
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