Lady Sovereign Issue #30

Public Warning (Def Jam)

By Kate Carolan-Reed
Published: December 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

Like a cool drink of grimy U.K. water, Lady Sovereign’s Public Warning refreshes like only the dopest of hip-hop albums can. It’s fresh, funny, completely original, and it’s brash and bold and super-unpredictable. And why shouldn’t it be great? The biggest name in American hip-hop got behind this 20-year-old white girl from across the pond and gave her the creative reigns to showcase her distinctly British point of view.  

Producer Medasyn lays the mostly upbeat, sometimes bleak, but always well-produced digital backdrop, but it’s Lady Sov who does the groundbreaking here. She lives up to her name (and the game of hip-hop) with the flow and confidence of a seasoned player. The difference here is Sov’s utter adorability. Her gritty cockney accent and cool-as-ice cadence are all her own, demonstrating a flow that the average American ear may find enjoyable but unintelligible. After a few listens, the realization hits: Sov has the chops to brilliantly bob and weave us through her unique interpretation of what hip-hop is. 

Album-opener “9 to 5” was reportedly one of the tracks that wooed Jay-Z to sign Sov, and it’s easy to understand why. The beat, flow, and “nah-nahs” recall Eminem (see Em’s “Without Me”), though it’s still quite an inspired ride, and the rest of Public Warning proves that Sov is no one-trick pony. 

“Gatheration” follows “9 to 5” with badass energy and more of Sov’s inspired MC skills. “Love Me or Hate Me” showcases a self-assured Sov asking us to choose either (she doesn’t care) over a descending digital melody. The self-proclaimed biggest midget in the game taunts, “Go on man, go on report me, I’m English, try and deport me.”  

On “My England,” Sov fires back at those who think the Brits are all about tea and crumpets — “We ain’t all squeaky clean, we ain’t all posh like the Queen” — while proving to be the only rapper in history to transition from the Antiques Road Show to smoking homegrown and getting bloated on a plate of scones.  

“Random” is sure to be a dancehall favorite with its simple plea to “do something random,” and the title track gives us some amazingly agile lyrical delivery. Truth be told, all 12 songs show something different about Lady Sovereign, and she always keeps her flow tight and well-executed.  

Yet, the real woo of Public Warning is the Lady herself. We want to get to know more about this cocky little tracksuit-wearing, side-ponytail–sporting British girl. We want to get in on the party. Now, the trick is to convince everyone else that they want to do the same.

Sure, there’ll be those who say that a white lady-rapper from England is like a black heavy metal band (thank you, Living Colour), but naysayers beware: Lady S-O-V is armed and cocked and ready to break ground, if only by breaking some barriers first.