Lady Sovereign
Lady Sovereign |
|---|
Lady Sovereign (born Louise Amanda Harman December 19, 1985) is an English MC.[1][2]
Biography
Early life
Born Louise Harman, female MC Sovereign was raised in northwest London's notorious Chalkhill Estate, a public housing project known for being especially rough and ragged. Although she admits her upbringing could get dangerous or depressing in these surroundings, Sovereign focused on the unique unity in the Chalkhill community, and the street cred she was earning there would soon be vital to the grime community taking her seriously. Influenced by her mother's Salt-N-Pepa albums, Sovereign began writing her own raps at the age of 14 and uploaded her Chalkhill stories to a So Solid Crew Internet fan forum. It was there where she met her longtime friend, DJ Frampster.
Sovereign began uploading some of her songs and a picture to music Web sites, only to be told, "You're white. You're a girl. You're British. You're crap." However, as American rap became more predictable, American audiences became more receptive to British rappers.[3]
Two years later she dropped out of school and landed a gig acting in an educational film about the life of an up-and-coming MC that also dropped out of Preston Manor High School at 16.[1] She convinced the producers that she could construct a soundtrack for the film, the demos for which landed in the hands of Medasyn. The producer partnered his discovery with Frost P, Zuz Rock, and Shystie for a male MC vs. female MC 12" he was working on titled "The Battle", released in 2003 on Casual Records. Every artist that was featured on "The Battle" has gone on to be signed by a record label.
Career
"The Battle" began a string of singles that would push Sovereign into the spotlight. While "A Little Bit of Shhh!," "Random," "9 to 5," and "Ch Ching" were flying out of the record bins, free Internet-only freestyles like "Tango" and "Cheeky" were becoming just as popular with the grime faithful. She began 2005 by appearing on the vital grime compilation Run the Road -- both as a solo artist and with the Streets -- then collected some singles and released the Vertically Challenged EP on Chocolate Industries.
She capped off the year by meeting with hip-hop megastar and label CEO Jay-Z. With Usher and L.A. Reid seated next to him, Jay-Z asked for one on-the-spot freestyle from Sovereign before offering her a contract with Def Jam. With the fist-raising single "Hoodie" leading the way, Lady Sovereign released her full-length debut, Public Warning, on Def Jam in 2006.[1] Lady Sovereign is the first non-American female to ever be signed to Def Jam.[4][2]
When The Ordinary Boys released the single "Boys Will Be Boys", Lady Sovereign came back with her own reply remix, featuring the music and chorus of the original, but with mostly her own vocals to the tune of "girls will be girls". In May 2006, the favour was returned when she was featured on the Ordinary Boys single, "Nine2Five," a remixed version of her own "9 to 5," credited as "The Ordinary Boys vs Lady Sovereign." "Nine2Five" entered at number 38 in the UK top 40 singles on downloads only, and jumped to #6 upon availability as a CD and 7" vinyl single during the week commencing May 22, 2006. This was her highest chart position to date and has helped to increase the media attention garnered by Lady Sovereign.
Lady Sovereign recently served as the host and spokesperson for Adult Swim and Chocolate Industries' Chocolate Swim.
On October 31, 2006, her debut album, Public Warning, was released, featuring "Random," "9 to 5," "Hoodie" and her new single, "Love Me or Hate Me," which was also released on the same day.[5][6]
On August 1, 2006, Lady Sovereign's new single "Love Me or Hate Me", a collaboration with American producer Dr. Luke, was aired on the radio for the first time in North America on Flow 93.5 in Canada. The harmony featured in this song references the Genesis track "I Can't Dance". She is also known for sometimes calling herself a midget (she stands at 5'1, or 152 cm), where she says: "This is officially the biggest midget in the game".[7]
She began an American tour on October 23, 2006 and soon appeared live on CBS-TV's Late Show with David Letterman. On November 18, 2006, it was announced that Lady Sovereign had contracted a throat and chest infection, forcing postponement of her shows in Las Vegas.[citation needed]
As of late 2006, "Love Me or Hate Me" is played in a Verizon Wireless advertisement for the LG Chocolate. It also appears on the Need for Speed: Carbon and Ugly Betty soundtrack. It is also the theme music for the show, The Bad Girls Club, as does "9 to 5" on the latter. "9 to 5" also appears among the dozens of songs on the soundtrack of the Xbox360's version of EA Sports' FIFA World Cup 2006 video game. On October 17, 2006 "Love Me or Hate Me" became the first video by a British artist to reach #1 on the U.S. (and original) version of MTV's Total Request Live.[1][2] "Love Me Or Hate Me" will be released in the UK on 29 January, 2007 [8], with the album following on 5 February, 2007 [9].
She has recorded a track for The O.C.'s new album, Music From The O.C. Mix 6 "Covering Our Tracks", where she sings The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant".[1]
On December 31, 2006, Lady Sovereign helped ring in the New Year with a performance of "Love Me Or Hate Me" during the MTV Goes Gold: New Year's Eve 2007 special which aired on MTV.
She will be opening for Gwen Stefani in Spring 2007 on her The Sweet Escape Tour.
Unlike many British artists who sing or rap with American accents, Sovereign raps with a thick working-class London accent. She often makes fun of her peers for trying to sound American in their work. ("Some English MCs get it twisted/start sayin' 'cookies' instead of 'biscuits'.")[3]
Family
Lady Sovereign was born to her mother Lynette Parsons and father Aden Harman. She has two siblings, an older sister and a younger brother.[1]
Controversy
Targeted as a Chav
Lady Sovereign is the first non-American female to appear on the Def Jam label. Her former lack of success in the UK may be due in part to her stigma as representative of chav culture. She was featured on a Sky One documentary on chavs produced by Julie Burchill, after having been the target of a barrage of abuse and ridicule on the internet forum ChavScum. However, she has a following in the United States and has co-headlined a tour with The Streets, with whom she appeared in a remix for his song "Fit But You Know It." Lady Sovereign's cult following was again boosted after she recorded an attack on singer Jentina with "Sad Ass Strippa," a play on words of Jentina's song "Bad Ass Strippa." Kitty Empire of The Guardian is known to be a fan of "Sad Ass Strippa" and mentioned it in an interview she wrote about Lady Sovereign.
Television Appearances
Has appeared on Soccer AM several times, including a spectacular and much-played goal on the "Road to Wembley" segment.
Has appeared in a feature story on Cartoon Network.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | UK | U.S. | CAN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Public Warning" | 48 | 43 | |
| 2006 | "Vertically Challenged" |
Singles
Full singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | U.S. | AUS | |||
| 2005 | "Random" | 73 | - | - | Vertically Challenged EP Public Warning |
| 2005 | "9 to 5" | 33 | - | - | Public Warning |
| 2005 | "Hoodie" | 44 | - | - | Public Warning |
| 2006 | "Nine2Five" (Vs. The Ordinary Boys) | 6 | - | - | - |
| 2006 | "Love Me or Hate Me" | 26 | 45 | 48 | Public Warning |
Promo singles
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2004 | "Ch Ching (Cheque 1 2)" |
| 2006 | "Blah Blah" |
Notes and references
- "Lady Sovereign making splash across Atlantic" by Brian Garrity, Reuters UK, October 21, 2006, retrieved October 22, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f Catriona Mathewson (February 22, 2007). "Sovereign hits her gold mine". News.com.au.
- ^ a b c Jasmine Dotiwala (February 13, 2007). "Jasmine's Juice". The Voice.
- ^ a b Lorraine Ali (October 30, 2006). "Homegirl From London". Newsweek.
- ^ Simon Price (February 11, 2007). "Lady Sovereign, Scala, London". The Independent.
- ^ "Lady Sovereign: Official Site". Def Jam.
- ^ "Lady Sovereign's Warning". Yahoo! Launch. July 17, 2006.
- ^ Lady Sovereign (2006). Love Me or Hate Me (MP3).
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/playlist.shtml BBC Radio 1 Playlist
- ^ http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1&sku=401163
See also
External links
- Official website
- Official promo website
- MySpace Profile
- Lady Sovereign Fuel TV interview
- Lady Sovereign discography at Discogs
- Lady Sovereign discography at MusicBrainz
- Lady Sovereign at IMDb