Bam (song)
{{Other uses|Bam (disambiguation){{!}}Bam}}
{{short description|2017 single by Jay-Z Featuring Damian Marley}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Bam
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Jay-Z featuring Damian Marley
| album = 4:44
| released = June 30, 2017
| recorded =
| studio = [No I.D.'s studio
(Hollywood, California)
| venue =
| genre = Fusion: Hip-Hop / Dub / Dancehall
| length = 3:55
| label = Roc Nation
| writer = {{flat list|
- Shawn Carter
- Dion Wilson
- Winston Riley
- Ophlin Russell
- Damian Marley
- Jacob Miller
- Roger Lewis}}
| producer = No I.D.
| year = 2017
}}
"Bam" is a song by American hip hop artist Jay-Z from his thirteenth studio album, 4:44 (2017).
Conception
No I.D., the producer of the album 4:44, stated that he felt that "Bam" was "the most difficult" song on the album to assemble, and credits Jay-Z's wife Beyoncé with spurring the completion of the track: ". . . she was like, 'Man, just give me that beat. You messing around.' And I saw the smoke coming out Jay’s nostrils, and the next morning he had the raps.'"{{Cite web |date=June 30, 2018 |title=No I.D. Breaks Down JAY-Z’s 4:44 |url=https://tidal.com/magazine/article/no-id-jay-z-444/1-51419 |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=Tidal}}
Marley recalled that his appearance on the track resulted from a meeting in California where Jay-Z asked Marley to drop by the studio and listen to the album:
"[Jay-Z] had the idea for the hook for the song already. He knew what he wanted for the hook, so I did that for him. And then he said, 'OK can you just freestyle over the beat?' So they played the beat down and looped it out for like, 15 minutes. So I'm just freestyling, singing all kind of garbage. And then they edited my freestyles and made my verse. So it was kind of cool, yeah. Easy work."{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Kiana |date=July 21, 2017 |title=Damian Marley Explains How Jay Z Collaboration on '4:44' Came Together |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/kiana/damian-marley-explains-how-jay-z-444-collaboration-came-together |access-date=February 9, 2025 |website=Complex}}
Samples and Collaborations
The song's title references a sample of "Bam Bam" by Jamaican musician Sister Nancy, who described her participation on the track as "a blessing."{{cite web |date=March 14, 2018 |title=Sister Nancy responds to being sampled by JAY-Z and Kanye West |url=https://www.thefader.com/2018/03/14/sister-nancy-responds-jay-z-kanye-west |access-date=July 15, 2019 |work=The FADER}}
The song's hook, sung by Damian Marley, is an interpolation of the 1976 song "Tenement Yard
"Bam" also samples "Prerogative" (1991) by Nicodemus, Super Cat, and Junior Demus.{{Cite web |last=Enig Mue |first= |title=Bam > Jay-Z |url=https://www.whosampled.com/sample/509745/Jay-Z-Damian-Marley-Bam-Sister-Nancy-Bam-Bam/ |access-date=January 29, 2025 |website=WhoSampled}}
Additional artists who appear on the song include: RØVÉL (Trumpet and Flugelhorn); Kenneth Whalum III (Tenor Saxophone); Nate Mercereau (French Horn); Jona Levine (Trombone); Michael “Law” Thomas (Additional Recorder); and Casey (Assistant Engineer).{{Cite web |title=Bam -- by Jay-Z feat. Damian Marley |url=https://www.whosampled.com/Jay-Z/Bam/ |access-date=February 14, 2025 |website=WhoSampled}}
Steve Wyreman, No I.D.'s Cocaine 80s collaborator, plays guitar and keyboards on the track.{{Cite web |last=Leight |first=Elias |last2=Reeves |first2=Mosi |last3=Shipley |first3=Al |date=June 30, 2017 |title=JAY-Z’S ‘4:44’: A TRACK-BY-TRACK GUIDE |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jay-zs-444-a-track-by-track-guide-204939/ |access-date=February 23, 2025 |website=Rolling Stone}}
Jay-Z and Damian Marley introduced the song on Saturday Night Live in October 2017 as the first musical guests of the show's 43rd season.{{Cite web |last=Espinoza |first=Joshua |date=October 1, 2017 |title=Watch Jay Z Perform "Bam" With Damian Marley and "4:44" on 'SNL' |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/cmplxjoshua-espinoza/watch-jay-z-bam-snl-performances |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Complex}}
The song was performed on the lead night of Jay-Z and wife Beyoncé's On the Run II Tour tour in Cardiff, UK in 2018.{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Kelsie |date=June 26, 2018 |title=Beyoncé and JAY-Z's On the Run II Tour Set List Has Been Revealed, and It's SO Good |url=https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/beyonce-jay-z-run-ii-tour-set-list-44926648 |access-date=February 14, 2018 |website=PopSugar}}
Marley is a co-owner owner of Tidal, the music streaming service acquired by Jay-Z in 2015.{{Cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Hugh |date=October 21, 2015 |title=Damian Marley Is The Latest Musician To Join Tidal As A Co-Owner |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2015/10/21/damian-marley-is-the-latest-musician-to-join-tidal-as-a-co-owner/ |access-date=February 13, 2025 |website=Forbes}}
Meaning and Lyrics
= '''''"Sometimes you need your ego / Gotta remind these fools"''''' =
Jay-Z described the song, in part, as an internal dialogue between his private and public personae: ". . . it’s secretly Shawn Carter saying, ‘Man, you need a bit of ego.’ It was because of me and the things that I’ve done, this is Jay-Z saying you needed a bit of ego for us to arrive at this point."{{Cite web |last=Yohance |first=Kyles |date=June 30, 2017 |title=JAY-Z Explains The Meaning For Every Song On His ‘4:44’ Album |url=https://allhiphop.com/news/jay-z-explains-the-meaning-for-every-song-on-his-444-album/ |access-date=January 29, 2025 |website=AllHiphop}}
The 'ego-building' sentiments expressed in the song serve as a counterpoint to a separate song on the same album called "Kill JAY Z," which is about killing off the ego, "so we can have this conversation in a place of vulnerability and honesty."{{Cite web |last=Hooton |first=Christopher |date=June 30, 2017 |title=Jay-Z says 'Kill Jay-Z' song 'not to be taken literally' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/jay-z-new-album-4-44-444-kill-jayz-lyrics-a7817206.html |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Independent}}
= ''"What a Bam Bam / I don't give a goddamn"'' =
The song's title references "Bam Bam," a Jamaican Patois term which often refers to a ruckus or commotion, the meaning ascribed to Sister Nancy's use of the term on her 1982 record of the same name.{{Cite web |last=Kemp-Habib |first=Alice |date=March 22, 2021 |title=Bam Bam — said to be the most sampled reggae song of all time |url=https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/bam-bam.html |access-date=February 11, 2024 |website=Financial Times}}
= ''"Too much watchy watchy watchy / Too much su su su su su"'' =
The interpolation of Jacob Miller's "Tenement Yard" further highlights the need to avoid those who invade personal space and privacy, whether in a tenement yard or on Instagram ("Y'all be talkin' crazy under them IG pictures").{{Cite web |last=King |first=Norma |title=The Meaning Behind The Song: Tenement Yard by Jacob Miller |url=https://www.musicianwages.com/w2/the-meaning-behind-the-song-tenement-yard-by-jacob-miller/ |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=Musician Wages}}{{Cite web |title=Lyrics of Bam by Jay-Z, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley |url=https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/JAY-Z-feat-Damian-Jr-Gong-Marley/Bam |access-date=February 15, 2025 |website=musixmatch}}
Video
In June 2017 the video "Bam (ft. Damian Marley)" was filmed on location in West Kingston, Jamaica. The video features Jay-Z and Marley visiting Trenchtown, Hellshire Beach, and Tuff Gong studios.{{Cite web |last=Lamarre |first=Carl |date=June 13, 2017 |title=Damian Marley Talks New Album ‘Stony Hill,’ Fatherhood & Possibly Teaming Up With Nas for Another Project |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/damian-marley-stony-hill-interview-jay-z-nas-fatherhood-7832799/ |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=Billboard}} {{Cite web |date=April 12, 2023 |title="Bam" by Jay-Z Featuring Damian Marley (with Sister Nancy sample) certified Gold in the US |url=https://worldmusicviews.com/bam-by-jay-z-featuring-damian-marley-with-sister-nancy-sample-certified-gold-in-the-us/ |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=World Music Views}} The six minute documentary-style video was directed by Rohan Blair-Mangat, produced by Natan Schottenfels, and includes footage of Sister Nancy discussing her art and creative process.{{Cite web |last=Jordan |first=Darville |date=July 14, 2017 |title=Watch JAY-Z’s Video For “BAM” |url=https://www.thefader.com/2017/07/14/jay-z-music-video-bam |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=Fader}}{{Cite web |last=Bather |first=Luke |date=July 24, 2017 |title=Jay-Z ft Damian Marley 'Bam' by Rohan Blair-Mangat |url=https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2017/07/24/jay-z-ft-damian-marley-bam-rohan-blair-mangat/48853 |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website=Promonews.}}
About the video's production and meeting Jay-Z, Sister Nancy recounted, "I spent three days down there with him. It was nice, but a man is just a man. Jay-Z is just a man, same as you. He’s no different.”{{Cite web |last=Blaise-Billie |first=Braudie |date=March 13, 2018 |title=Sister Nancy Calls JAY-Z and Kanye’s 'Bam Bam' Samples 'a Blessing' |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/sister-nancy-calls-jay-z-and-kanyes-bam-bam-samples-a-blessing/ |access-date=February 13, 2025 |website=Pitchfork}}
Joshua James Richards was the Director of Photography of the video, which was released on August 24, 2017.{{Cite web |last=MacGregor |first=Andrew |date=August 25, 2017 |title=Jay-Z "Bam (ft. Damian Marley)" 24 August 2017 6 mins 12s |url=https://www.davidreviews.com/Reviews/2017/JayZ_Bam_ft_Damian_Marley/ |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website=David Reviews}}
Reception
"Bam" certified Gold in the United States on December 4, 2023.{{Cite web |last=Mallick |first=Dani |date=December 5, 2023 |title=Jay-Z’s Reggae-Sampling Hits ‘Lucifer,’ ‘Encore,’ And ‘Bam’ Certified Gold In U.S. |url=https://www.dancehallmag.com/2023/12/05/news/jay-zs-reggae-sampling-hits-lucifer-encore-and-bam-certified-gold-in-u-s.html |access-date=January 29, 2025 |website=DancehallMag}}
Vibe (magazine), presented a critical review of the song, noting that although "the song itself is one of the most boisterous offerings [on the album], 'Bam' falls short when compared to the more refined compositions by No I.D. that made the final cut [of the album]."{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Preezy |date=July 3, 2017 |title=Tracklist Ranking: The Best Beats On JAY-Z’s ‘4:44’ |url=https://www.vibe.com/features/lists/jay-z-4-44-no-i-d-best-beats-ranking-523591/ |access-date=February 1, 2025 |website=Vibe}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2017)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|UK|93|date=2017-07-20|rowheader=true|access-date=July 15, 2019}} |
| {{singlechart|UKrandb|33|date=2017-07-20|rowheader=true|access-date=July 15, 2019}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|47|artist=Jay-Z|rowheader=true|access-date=July 15, 2019}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardrandbhiphop|21|artist=Jay-Z|rowheader=true|access-date=July 15, 2019}} |
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|title=Bam|artist=Jay-Z|award=Gold|relyear=2017|certyear=2023|access-date=December 4, 2023}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true|noshipments=true}}
Release history
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col"| Region
! scope="col"| Date ! scope="col"| Format ! scope="col"| Label ! scope="col"| {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |
|---|
| scope="row" rowspan="2"| United States
|rowspan="2"| September 26, 2017 | Rhythmic contemporary radio |rowspan="2" | Roc Nation |
| Urban contemporary radio |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Jay-Z songs}}
{{Damian Marley}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Song recordings produced by No I.D.
Category:Songs written by Jay-Z