Lady Sovereign Issue #39

Phoenix Rising

By Kate Williams
Published: March 1st, 2009 | 9:54am

In case anyone’s forgotten who she is, the first three syllables of Lady Sovereign’s new single, “I Got You Dancing,” deliver a reminder: “SSSSSS OOOOOO VEEEEEEE.” Yep, the midget chav queen is back. Sorta.

Gone are the cornrows, the side ponytail, the tracksuits and, as it soon becomes apparent, some of the attitude. After becoming intimately acquainted with her voicemail, I finally catch Lady Sov at the end of a long day of interviews. “I’m just getting back into doing these interview thingys again,” she says when she answers. “For the last year and a half, I haven’t been doing anything. It’s been a long time.”

Three years ago, at just 20, Lady Sov burst out of London’s Chalkhill Estates as the U.K.’s most unlikely grime ambassador: a 5’1” white girl with as much attitude as the whole Wu-Tang Clan put together. She signed to Def Jam; released her first full-length album, Public Warning; went on tour with Gwen Stefani; and quit. “I guess it was like, the pressure, it was great being signed to Def Jam and everything, I enjoyed it, but if I didn’t do something, or if I didn’t interview or whatever, I’d get called for it,” she says. “I don’t want to be told off like some kid when it is my fucking music. “

“I was just tired of performing the same stuff, I got a little self-conscious about it,” she admits. “I was on tour with Gwen Stefani, and that was like the worst, when I just said ‘Fuck this,’ and just hid away for a little bit.”

Talking to Lady Sov, it’s definitely apparent that she hates interviews, but with a new album out in April — and on her own label, Midget Records, no less — she’s giving it her best and genuinely trying to answer every question honestly.

On “Bang, Bang” she raps “My ponytail’s dead.” True: it’s been replaced with lots of eye makeup and sleek highlighted hair. I strike gold when I mention her new look, and she giggles. “I am Lady Sovereign. I don’t necessarily wear my Sovereign ring all the time now, but people know me as Lady Sovereign and call me that, and it’s still me,” she says. “In terms of the music and stuff, I don’t want to be stuck doing the same things all the time. I’m just going to be true and get on with it and not worry about being Lady Sovereign from three years ago.”

“I never really think about it that intensely,” she says, truthfully. “I just get on with it and whatever comes out comes out, if I like it, I’m happy. It worries me a bit that other people won’t like it…”

People will like it, though, and chances are, Lady Sovereign’s empire will expand. As “I Got You Dancing,” suggests, the album is filled with irresistible tracks, some with her singing, and one of the standouts, “Jigsaw,” is even a love song. It’s a diverse, polished, surprising album from someone that a lot of people had probably already written off — evidence that Lady Sov’s self-imposed hiatus served her well.

Releasing her album on her own label means that Lady Sov can finally do what she wants, but the responsibility for whatever happens falls almost entirely on her shoulders. “It’s completely different. Obviously, I’ve got to work as hard as I can, but at the same time, I’m not going to tire myself out,” she says.

For now, she’s taking it slow. “Like, sometimes, I sit down and I’m like, ‘fucking hell, I kind of stopped at a really stupid time.’ I could have gone on and on and on, but I kind of feel like I’ve achieved a lot. It’s sort of hard to do, though, and I have no idea how this year’s going to turn out. Time can only tell, I really don’t know…”