Louise Amanda Harman (born 1985), better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is a British

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

, best known for the songs "

9 to 5 Working time or laboring time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countri ...

" and " Love Me or Hate Me". She was signed to

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

in 2005 by

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

Early life and family

Harman grew up in Chalkhill Estate in

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broad ...

, London. In 2004, she said "When I heard

Ms. Dynamite Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Naomi Arleen M ...

's track '

Booo! "Booo!" is a song by UK garage DJ/producer Sticky featuring Ms. Dynamite. It was the first single Ms. Dynamite appeared on before the release of her debut solo single the following year. The song was a top 20 hit, peaking at No. 12 on the UK ...

' in 2001 it inspired me. I hadn't heard a female MC before that. She's real. Her presence, her image, the way she does everything... she opened so many doors for us girls, MCs are real, they write their own stuff, they rap about what they know, the stuff around them." Harman began uploading some of her songs and a picture to various music web sites when she was 15. She told ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' in 2006 that comments initially ran along the lines of, "You're white. You're a girl. You're British. You're crap." Harman signed with Universal in 2004. She released a number of solo records and opened for Basement Jaxx,

the Streets The Streets is an English musical project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner (musician), Mike Skinner. The project was founded in the early 90s, while Skinner was still a teenager; however, no music would formally eventuat ...

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...

, D12 and

Obie Trice Obie Trice III (born November 14, 1977) is an American rapper. He signed with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem's Shady Records, an imprint of Interscope Records in 2000 to release his first two albums, ''Cheers'' (2003) and '' Second Round's on Me' ...

. Her mother, Nicola, was diagnosed with a terminal

brain tumour A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...

and died on 14 March 2010 ( Mothering Sunday in the UK).

Career

2005–2006: Early singles and EPs

"The Battle" began a string of singles that would push Lady Sovereign into the spotlight. While "A Little Bit of Shhh!", "9 to 5", and " Sad Arse Stripah" were selling well, free Internet-only freestyles like "Tango" and "Cheeky" were becoming just as popular. On 15 November 2005, Chocolate Industries released the ''Vertically Challenged'' EP, which collected most of her singles recorded to date. In April 2006 she released her second EP, ''Blah Blah'' in the UK. She released yet another EP, but was limited for US radios; ''Size Don't Matter!'' 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 The Streets is an English musical project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner (musician), Mike Skinner. The project was founded in the early 90s, while Skinner was still a teenager; however, no music would formally eventuat ...

. When

The Ordinary Boys The Ordinary Boys are an English pop band from Worthing, West Sussex. Originally named Next in Line, they are influenced by punk rock and Britpop music. Their name derives from a Morrissey song, "The Ordinary Boys". The membership of the band ...

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 the UK top 40 singles at number 39 on downloads only, and jumped to number 6 upon availability as a CD and 7" vinyl single during the week commencing 22 May 2005. This is her highest chart position to date.

2006–2009: ''Public Warning''

Lady Sovereign capped off 2005 by meeting with the American hip hop artist and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the labels

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

and

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American record label and music management company founded in 1994 by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Carter issued his debut album, '' Reasonable Doubt ...

. 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

. 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 Record Label. On 31 October 2006, her debut album, ''Public Warning'', was released, featuring "

Random In common usage, randomness is the apparent or actual lack of definite pattern or predictability in information. A random sequence of events, symbols or steps often has no order and does not follow an intelligible pattern or combination. ...

", "

Hoodie A hoodie is a type of sweatshirt with a hood that, when worn up, covers most of the head and neck, and sometimes the face. The most common 'pullover' style hoodies often include a single large knife pocket or muff on the lower front, whil ...

" 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 femininity by satirizing popular dress and mannerisms. Some of the lyrics include ''I'm fat, I need a diet/No, in fact I'm just here lyin'/I ain't got the biggest breast-ises,/but I write all the best disses/I've got hairy armpits/But I don't walk around like this/I wear a big baggy t-shirt that hides that nasty shit.'' With the lyrics continuing in this satirical nature, Lady Sovereign continues to comment on and express her dissonance with female lifestyles in popular culture. She began an American tour on 23 October 2006 and soon after appeared on ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

''. In addition to her own tour, she appeared as the opening act for various artists, including The Streets and

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton ( ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose hit singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs", an ...

on her 2007 The Sweet Escape Tour. On 17 October 2006 "Love Me or Hate Me" became the first video by a British artist to reach number 1 on the United States (and original) version of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (commonly abbreviated as ''TRL'') is an American television program that premiered on MTV on September 14, 1998. The early version of ''TRL'' featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as ...

''. "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 The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

' " Pretty Vacant" for ''Music from The O.C. Mix 6 – Covering Our Tracks''

2009: ''Jigsaw''

Lady Sovereign released a second album in spring 2009. She also went on tour. After a final dispute with Island Records, it was revealed on her official website that she would release the album through her independent record label, Midget Records, and that it was fully written and some songs were already recorded. She also said the album was going to be released in the United States and United Kingdom on 7 April 2009. On Monday, 8 December 2008, Lady Sovereign restated that '' Jigsaw'' would be released on 6 April 2009. She also released a free single titled "I Got You Dancing", making it available on her MySpace and official website. During her "Jigsaw" tour she teamed up with DJ Annalyze as her tour DJ.

Television and commercial appearances

Lady Sovereign has appeared on '' Soccer AM'' several times. She has appeared in a feature story on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

and in an educational movie called ''X-ED''. In late 2006, "Love Me Or Hate Me" was played in a Verizon Wireless advertisement. It also appears on the soundtrack of the video game '' Need for Speed: Carbon'', and became the theme song for the first season of reality TV show '' Bad Girls Club''. "9 to 5" also appeared on an episode of the aforementioned ''Bad Girls Club'', as well as on the soundtrack of the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

's version of EA Sports' '' FIFA World Cup 2006'' video game, on the ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...

'' soundtrack and features in the 2007 film ''St Trinian's'', "Random" appears on the Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix soundtrack, and features on an episode of

Malcolm in The Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons consisting of 151 episodes. The ...

, "I Got You Dancing" was featured in '' Need for Speed: Nitro'', "Hoodie" was used for a ''

Mario Party is a series of party video games created by Hudson Soft and owned by Nintendo. It features List of Mario franchise characters, characters from the Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise in which up to four local players or Artificial inte ...

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

commercial. Some of Lady Sovereign's such as "9 to 5" and " So Human" were also used on the BBC 1 show '' Waterloo Road'' in 2009/10. Bizarre Creation's '' Project Gotham Racing 4'' video game on the

features the song "Blah Blah" by Lady Sovereign, EA's '' Fight Night Round 4'' video game features Lady Sovereign's "Bang Bang" track, "So Human" appears in season 2 episode 1 of the television series ' 90210', "Jigsaw" was featured in the second episode of the fifth season of MTV reality show '' The Hills'', called 'Everything Happens For A Reason'. On 23 October 2006, Sovereign made an appearance on American talk show the ''

''. During her performance of "Love Me Or Hate Me" the lyrics "If you hate me, then fuck you" were changed to "if you hate me, then I hate you". Lady Sovereign served as the host and spokesperson for

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

and Chocolate Industries' '' Chocolate Swim''. In January 2010, Bally Total Fitness selected Lady Sovereign and her song "I Got You Dancing" for the featured artist section on their website, the song is also being used in their television commercials. On 22 January 2010, Sovereign was due to appear on '' This Week'', a BBC political review show, to discuss the laws regarding self-defence for householders. Early in the programme, she was shown backstage waving to camera in anticipation of her appearance. However, when the segment began, presenter Andrew Neil apologised to viewers and explained the rapper had "done a runner." Neil instead discussed the topic with regular contributors

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo ( ; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Jou ...

and

Diane Abbott Diane Julie Abbott (born 27 September 1953) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has been serving as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987 Unit ...

and concluded by joking "Who needs Lady Sovereign? Who ''is'' Lady Sovereign?" Abbott laughed and responded "I don't know." In an interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s Rich Pelley on 30 January, Lady Sovereign said of the incident: "I had a panic attack! My hands went stiff and I started hyperventilating. I didn't want to do it hours before but I went anyway, then I just changed my mind at the last minute, I guess." Lady Sovereign appeared on the British game show ''

Total Wipeout ''Total Wipeout'' is a British game show hosted by Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram which first aired on the BBC on 3 January 2009. In each episode, contestants competed in a series of challenges in an attempt to win £10,000. These challenges ...

s eighth celebrity special. She made it to the second round by default but failed to advance any further. She was the third evicted housemate from the seventh series of ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...

''. She was nominated for both the first and second evictions. Having survived the first double eviction, she was evicted the second time around with 69.5% of the vote.

Controversies

In September 2009, while in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia for the Parklife Festival, Lady Sovereign was arrested for

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

and drunk and disorderly behaviour after spitting on a nightclub bouncer. She had only been in the country seven hours before the assault occurred. She was ordered to pay a fine of $400

AUD The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official currency and legal tender of Au ...

, and $200 AUD in compensation to the bouncer. Lady Sovereign was involved in a feud with fellow British rapper Jentina.

Personal life

In a 2010 interview with ''

Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

'' magazine, Lady Sovereign said she came out as a lesbian in the house during ''

'' but that her declaration did not end up in the broadcast show. Lady Sovereign has not released any music since 2009. She previously spoke about medical issues halting her career. In 2022, Lady Sovereign confirmed that she had been diagnosed with the rare disorder cyclic vomiting syndrome.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Mixtapes

Singles

Promotional singles

References

External links

* *
Lady Sovereign
on Last.FM * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sovereign, Lady 1985 births Living people English people convicted of assault English women rappers British feminist musicians Lesbian singers Lesbian songwriters Lesbian rappers Grime music artists English lesbian musicians English LGBTQ singers English LGBTQ songwriters People from Wembley Rappers from the London Borough of Brent 21st-century British rappers 21st-century English women singers 20th-century British LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century women rappers