The Chicagoist will be launching later but in the meantime please enjoy our archives.

Public Warning, Lady Sov is Coming to Town

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 3, 2006 7:51PM

2006_11_lady_sov.jpgLady Sovereign.

No, she's not the British Eminem.

No, she's not the female Streets.

Yes, she is the biggest midget in the game.

Okay, that last bit was actually created by her marketing team, so take it with a grain of salt. Lady Sovereign's long-awaited debut dropped this week. The entire disc had already basically been issued via singles and EPs over the last year, but it does serve as a nice compilation of her work thus far. Lady Sovereign mines a particularly British blend of hip-hop, and considering how lame and predictable the majority (note, we are NOT saying all) of American hip-hop has become, her introduction is a welcome one.

Sure, most kids "in the know" view Lady Sov as "old news" by now, but considering her recent conquering of the TRL crowd, she may be the rare underground sensation to truly go global with this album.

As with most hip-hop artists, her live shows have been dogged by a reputation for being rather hit-or-miss, and she almost always keeps the crowd waiting. After we saw her at Lollapalooza this year, though, we are willing to forgive her tardiness and attest to the fact that, at least in our experience, she's a vicious live presence.

Lady Sovereign isn't really breaking any new ground, but she is focusing on the playful braggadocio and inventive beats that made hip-hop so much fun in the first place. She'll continue this reclamation project Saturday night at The Metro.