Lady Sovereign
Public Warning
Def Jam/Universal


The first long player from mouthy north Londoner Louise Harman (Lady Sovereign to you and I) is an energetic debut laden with the necessary attitude from the self-proclaimed "Biggest midget in the game." Lady Sovereign is the first female signing to Def Jam after her battle blogging and freestyling was discovered by president, Jay-Z. Since that time she has toured the US with The Streets and recorded with Basement Jaxx and Beastie Boy Adrock.

The opener 9-5 is an almost pop exploration in the hip-hop form, with a sing-along chorus that is the only similarity with the Dolly Parton version. Gatheration is a bit harder and a riotous bumping in of party folks, an inventory of party pursuits to dance along to, while the title track is a powerhouse of self-aggrandised rhyme to a running beat that finishes at a thrashing pace.

'Public Warning' is a lot more lively than much grime about, though Lady Sovereign is lumped in with that urban sub-genre. With producer Medasyn, 'Sov has created an edgy crossover album with a few tracks that contain stealthy, minimalist beats which characterise grime, for example Tango, A Little Bit Of Shh and Fiddle With The Volume. But she also uses synth soul samples to fashion laid-back hip-hop, as in Those Were The Days where she raps on her tomboy, council estate early years - essential material in the urban style and she imbues it with fresh references in her street pastiche.

My England is her treatise on the mother country and early single Blah Blah is produced and given much oomph by Basement Jaxx, a stand-out track on a good album. Lady Sovereign provides rapid fire rhythmic rhymes which contain both pithy and inane lyrics and in range of urban flavours to make a strong debut.

The question is, when thinking about a follow-up, if you take the girl out of the council estate, do you take the battle rhymes out of the girl?

Narelle Walker