Lady Sovereign Biography

Lady Sovereign Biography

Amanda Harman AKA Lady Sovereign, is an English rapper. Lady Sovereign is unique as the only white female artist in the primarily black British Grime scene. As a white MC, her authenticity has been contested within the British grime scene, "even though she grew up in the same kind of public-housing project - Chalk Hill estate, now demolished - that many grime artists did. "She has been compared to both Melanie C (namely her Sporty Spice persona), for their similar athletic clothing, and to Eminem, as "another lily-white rap sensation. Lady Sovereign is notable for her adoption of a relatively masculine appearance and aggressive delivery, donning athletic gear and mocking the trappings of more traditional female sexuality, perhaps in order to better fit in with the male dominated Grime scene. This stands in sharp contrast to female artists in similar genres, such as Bassline House’s more traditionally feminine Zoe. Her levels of success continue to rise domestically, and while she has not reached mainstream audiences abroad, she is becoming recognizable as a standout Caucasian in the grime genre. New Yorker writer Sasha Frere-Jones describes her as "good: pithy, clever, and able to use her honking voice to humorous effect." In addition to being compared to American rapper Eminem for being lone prominent Caucasians in their genres, they also both frequently use this "honking" voice in a humorous way. This can be seen in Lady Sovereign's track "Cha Ching (Cheque 1, 2 Remix)" and Eminem's tracks "Just Lose It" and "Without Me."

"The Battle" began a string of singles that would push Lady Sovereign into the spotlight. While "A Little Bit of Shhh!," "Random," "9 to 5," were selling well, free Internet-only freestyles like "Tango" and "Cheeky" were becoming just as popular. On November 15th, 2005 Chocolate Industries released the Vertically Challenged EP, which collected most of her singles recorded to date. Aside from her own records, 2005 saw Lady Sovereign appear as a guest or contributor on several projects. She began 2005 by appearing on the grime compilation Run the Road, both as a solo artist and with The Streets. When The Ordinary Boys released the single "Boys Will Be Boys", Lady Sovereign came back with a 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, 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 #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. Def Jam and Public Warning Lady Sovereign capped off 2005 by meeting with the American hip-hop star and CEO of the labels Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records, Jay-Z. This marked her foray into the American music scene. 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 single "Hoodie", Lady Sovereign released her full-length debut, Public Warning, on Def Jam in 2006. Lady Sovereign is the first non-American female to ever be signed to Def Jam. On October 31, 2006, her debut album, Public Warning, was released, featuring "Random," "9 to 5," "Hoodie" and single, "Love Me or Hate Me," which was also released on the same day. The music video for the single features Lady Sovereign mocking stereotypical ideals of feminism by satirizing popular dress and mannerisms. Some of the lyrics include I'm fat, I need a diet./No, in fact I'm just too light./And I ain't got the biggest breast-s-s,/but I write all the best disses. With the lyrics continuing in this satirical nature, Lady Sovereign continues to comment on and express her dissonance with female lifestyles in popular culture.[14] She began an American tour on October 23, 2006 and soon after appeared on CBS-TV's Late Show with David Letterman. In addition to her own tour, she appeared as the opening act for various artists, including The Streets and Gwen Stefani on her 2007 The Sweet Escape Tour. 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. "Love Me Or Hate Me" was released in the UK on 29 January 2007, with the album following on 5 February 2007. Lady Sovereign has recorded a cover of The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant" for The O.C.'s new album, Music From The O.C. Mix 6 "Covering Our Tracks". Lady Sovereign's appearance on the American music scene is part of a greater trend of British grime venturing across the Atlantic, with the help of influential d.j.s and MCs in the United States. Although she is not the only grime female MC, she is definitely the most well-known. The grime scene in the United Kingdom is very male-dominated, already making it much more difficult for a female to establish herself as an authentic artist. There have been issues with Sovereign's authenticity because not only is she in the gender minority of the grime scene, but she is also the only white female MC. Despite this, she is already hitting it big in the U.K., and is on her way to the United States. At only 19 years old, she is already becoming one of the world's most in-demand rappers, with established American and British hip-hop producers and artists like Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg, and Basement Jaxx all wishing to work with her. She has already been compared to hip-hop legend Eminem.

The self-proclaimed "biggest midget in the game," MC Lady Sovereign has an unmistakably British delivery and style, but a string of singles showcasing her sly wit and brash charisma over bottom-heavy beats brought on a worldwide buzz. Born Louise Harman, 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 DJ, Frampster. 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. 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, "The Battle" began a string of singles that would push Sovereign into the spotlight. While "A Little Bit of Shhh!," "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.