Change Sovereign(ty)!
The wonderful thing about being a talented star is you can always look for greener pastures outside home. And that is what Lady Sovereignty did. When she debuted in her native country, England, her songs didn’t quite make it to the UK Top 40. But Lady Sovereignty – or Louise Amanda Harman of London – is a well-respected artist in the US and is the first non-American to land a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. All that it took was for her to change countries and presto!
Lady Sovereignty belongs to the genre of rap music and she has mentioned The Streets, Obie Trice and Basement Jaxx as those who supported her, not to mention Ms. Dynamite as a sort of inspiration. Lady Sovereign was born in 1985 in Wembley, London and in British lingo, is known as a British grime MC.
Given that she impressed the CEO of Def Jam Recordings, Jay-Z, she signed a contract with the Island Def Jam Music Group last year, who is run by Chairman Antonio Reid. October 3, 2006 is the target date for the release of her studio album.
Lady Sovereign was first noticed when she performed in “The Battle”, described as a girls and boys freestyle rap, co-performing with other rappers such as Shystie and Frost P.
“The Battle” was followed by “Random” and then by “9 to 5” but they landed in the lower rung of the UK Top 40. “Hoodie”, the single that followed “9 to 5” – a dance show at Basement Jaxx – did not make it to the Top 40.
May 2006 was more promising. This time, Lady Sovereign scored a success with the latest single of “The Ordinary Boys” where an innovated version of “9 to 5” was made. This hit jumped to # 6 on the UK top 40 when it became available on CD. This achievement paved the way for bigger and better things. One writer explains that her lack of success in the UK was probably due to the fact that she was considered part of chav culture. In a nutshell, “chav” is British slang that originates back to the saying “Cheltenham Average” and refers to young adults preoccupied with fashion, namely gold jewelry and trademarks such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry.
Regardless of her “chav” connection, Lady Sovereign is riding high in the US and is on a tour with “The Streets.” People say she also managed to develop a cult following. She was seen hosting “Adult Swim” and the gossip columns report she is currently dating Joel English, also a rapper from New Zealand.