The legal team representing one of the executors of the Toots Hibbert estate is taking action to sue the rights and royalties to the Toots & The Maytals song Bam Bam.

Song of the Toots festival in 1966, Bam Bam, was sampled in the song of the same name by Sister Nancy in 1982. The version of Nancy, produced by Winston Riley, borrowed heavily from the chorus of the original and also used an instrumental that sampled Ansell Collins’ song from 1974 Stalag 17. It has since grown in popularity around the world and has itself been sampled over 120 times, according to WhoSampled.com.

Last week Nancy Bam Bam was featured in the new James Bond film No time to die and in an episode of the new Netflix series Housemaid.

Lawyer Debra Archer, who represents Toot’s granddaughter Cressida Rattigan, revealed that no concrete steps were taken to defend the interests of the late singer following his death on September 11, 2020, at the age 77.

“There is no action that I am aware of at this time. It’s an unfortunate part of the drama that’s playing out, ”Archer said. DancehallMag.

The “drama” that is playing out refers to an internal conflict over the succession because the will of the late singer has not yet been verified. Archer said the legal team was tasked with “investigating the situation” nonetheless.

“Since this has been brought to our attention, this must change as this is a Toots original that the estate needs to protect. The executor I represent has asked us to pursue this matter. We are currently investigating this situation, ”said Archer.

Bond movie and Netflix series are just the latest uses of Sister Nancy Bam Bam.

In 1998, the song was featured in the Hype Williams movie Stomach. In 2014, Bam Bam appeared in the film Seth Rogen / Evan Goldberg The interview.

Lauryn Hill interpolated Bam Bam in his song, The missing, from the 1998 album, Lauryn Hill’s poor education, while Kanye West and Rihanna sampled Bam Bam on the song of 2016 Popular of Pablo’s life. Jay-Z and Damian Marley sampled the song in Bam from the 2017 album 4:44. Jay-Z actually traveled to Jamaica to record Bam’s music video. During his visit, he met Sister Nancy, who appears in the video.

Dancehall legend Yellowman covered the song in 1982, as did Chakademus and Pliers for their Everything she wrote (1992) album.

Other samples and interpolations of Bam Bam include Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa Bomb, SHE Make me, Kat Deluna and Trey Songz Bum Bum, and Lizzo’s Truth hurts.

Sister Nancy revealed that she did not receive any royalties for the use of her song, until 2014, when she saw it in a Reebok commercial and decided to seek legal advice. She would have received 50% of the property and ten years of past compensation.

“Yeah, I’m getting the royalties now,” Nancy told NME in 2018. “Now I own 50% of the album“ One, Two. ”At least I’m getting something now, I never had anything. had.

Weeks before his death, Toots Hibbert and his manager told The Jamaica Observer that they had tasked a team of intellectual property rights managers to run a thorough forensic audit to find out which musicians covered. Bam Bam and which entities and individuals have collected publications and royalties, without giving it the required credit.

At the time, Hibbert said he never received royalties for the song.

“Not a dime… I am the author, arranger, songwriter, singer and producer of the original song,” he told Jamaica Observer.

According to Hibbert, he is listed as the principal songwriter at the US Copyright Office in Washington DC. Toots was also the author, songwriter, singer and producer of the original song.

Cabel Stephenson, former manager of Toots and the Maytals, said the singer had also asked his editors to do extensive forensic accounting of anyone who covered his song without giving it credit.

“It is well established and cannot be disputed that he is the owner of his song and that it was also registered in the House of Congress of the United States of America, so anyone who has used his right to author without contacting him will soon find out who the real owner of the intellectual copyright of that song is. It’s a question of the long term, the short catch, ”Stephenson said.

Under the rules of the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), musicians must seek permission from original copyright owners or their agents, such as their record company or music company. musical edition, before covering or sampling the work of others.