Lady Sovereign now resides in North London, England.
Career
Lady Sovereign first received attention when she recorded "The Battle", a freestyle girls versus boys battle rap with Shystie, Suz Rock and Frost P. Each rapper who participated in the recording of "The Battle" has since been signed to a record deal.
Lady Sovereign signed to Island Def Jam Music Group in 2005, after auditioning for Def Jam Recordings president and CEO, Jay-Z and The Island Def Jam Music Group chairman, Antonio "L.A." Reid.
Shortly afterwards, "Random" was released. This was followed by "9 to 5" which entered the UK Top 40 at number 33. The follow-up single, "Hoodie" - produced by dance act Basement Jaxx - failed to reach the top 40, peaking at number 44. Lady Sovereign has since recorded with AdRock from the American rap group the Beastie Boys and American producer Dr. Luke.
When The Ordinary Boys released the single "Boys Will Be Boys", Lady Sovereign came back with her own 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, the favor was returned when 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 at number 38 in the UK top 40 singles on downloads only, and jumped to #6 upon availability as a CD and 7" vinyl single during the week commencing May 22, 2006. This was her highest chart position to date and has helped to increase the media attention garnered by Lady Sovereign.
Lady Sovereign is the first non-American female to appear on the Def Jam label. Her former lack of success in the UK may be due in part to her stigma as representative of chav culture. She was featured on a Sky One documentary on chavs produced by Julie Burchill, after having been the target of a barrage of abuse and ridicule on the internet forum ChavScum. However, she has a following in the United States and has co-headlined a tour with The Streets, with whom she appeared in a remix for his song "Fit But You Know It." Lady Sovereign's cult following was again boosted after she recorded an attack on singer Jentina with "Sad Ass Strippa," a play on words of Jentina's song "Bad Ass Strippa." Kitty Empire of The Guardian is known to be a fan of "Sad Ass Strippa" and mentioned it in an interview she wrote about Lady Sovereign.
Lady Sovereign recently served as the host and spokesperson for Adult Swim and Chocolate Industries' Chocolate Swim.
On October 31, 2006, her debut album, Public Warning, was released, featuring "Random," "9 to 5," "Hoodie" and her new single, "Love Me or Hate Me," which was also released on the same day.
On August 1, 2006, Lady Sovereign's new single "Love Me or Hate Me", a collaboration with American producer Dr. Luke, was aired on the radio for the first time in North America on Flow 93.5 in Canada. The song explains how she is almost the exact inverse of typical female rappers that sell very well, and shows some disgruntlement in pop culture. She explains she doesn't have looks, she can't sing, and can't dance, so love her or hate her. The harmony featured in this song references the Genesis track "I Can't Dance". She is also known for sometimes calling herself a midget (she stands at 5'1, or 152 cm), where she says: "This is officially the biggest midget in the game".
She began an American tour on October 23, 2006 and soon appeared live on CBS-TV's Late Show with David Letterman. On November 18, 2006, it was announced that Lady Sovereign had contracted a throat and chest infection, forcing postponement of her shows in Las Vegas.
As of late 2006, "Love Me or Hate Me" was played in a Verizon Wireless advertisement for the LG Chocolate. It also appears on the Need for Speed: Carbon and Ugly Betty soundtrack, as does "9 to 5" on the latter. On October 17, 2006 "Love Me or Hate Me" became the first video by a British artist to reach #1 on the U.S. (and original) version of MTV's Total Request Live. "Love Me Or Hate Me" was released in the UK on 29 January 2007, with the album following on 5 February 2007.
She has recorded a track for The O.C.'s new album, Music From The O.C. Mix 6 "Covering Our Tracks", where she sings The Sex Pistols' "Pretty Vacant".
On December 31, 2006, Lady Sovereign helped ring in the New Year with a performance of "Love Me Or Hate Me" during the MTV Goes Gold: New Year's Eve 2007 special which aired on MTV.
Sov's full-length Straight Up Cheeky is supposedly coming out early summer, but as for other LS sightings: "Ch-Ching (Cheque 1, 2 Remix)" is on the first major-label grime comp Run The Road, and a 20-minute "FelineMix" has been floating around the p2ps for about a year now.
She returned with her new album Jigsaw which was released on April 7, 2009 on Sov's own label Midget Records.
Hoodie
Lady Sovereign Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'm just looking at your garms you been on too many catalog sprees
With your granny fied curtain designs, your hurting my eyes,
You really should revise your dress sense before you walk on by,
I'm kinda mixed up in this disco inferno,
Baggy jeans and a tight top, lemonade and Pernod
I'm sticking out like a sore thumb but I ain't concerned though, no, uh oh,oh oh oh (boogie)
Fling on an A D I D A S hoodie and just boogie woogie with me
Oh
Or you can just. put on your dancing shoes and get loose
Can you get loose can you??
So I was up in this trendy bar mingling
My keys around my neck were jingling
And you was looking at me like it was my bling
You was staring at me like to say I was ginger
I was dishing out out the same dirty looks trust me your the minger
Who's she, who's that, who's her?
The bouncer was approaching me cause I was dressed really inappropriately
No hood, no hats, no this, no that
Lets roll uh ol' uh ol' (out)
[Chorus: x2]
Right everybody, if you've got someone who cant dress properly,
Yeah you need to direct them this way.
Why not just cut up all your old clothes
And make a quilt so I can wrap myself up when im feeling cold,
Why not dash your ugly boots on the fire and burn them down to charcoal,
If your not feeling the way that your bedrin is dressing dont be stressing
Send them in my direction please,
Black shoes , white socks, no oh
Polka dots, no oh
Flowery frocks, no oh
Just boogie woogie with me!
In Lady Sovereign's song "Hoodie," she takes on the role of the fashion police and critiques the dressing style of those around her. She points out the dress sense of one person who has gone on too many catalog sprees and has a granny-fied curtain design that is hurting her eyes. Lady Sovereign advises her to revise her dress sense before walking by. Despite being a misfit in the disco inferno, where she is wearing baggy jeans and a tight top, Lady Sovereign is comfortable in her skin and is not concerned. She invites everyone to put on their dancing shoes or a hoodie and just boogie woogie with her.
The song's chorus focuses on just having fun and letting loose, regardless of how one is dressed. Lady Sovereign encourages everyone to get up and groove with her, even if they cannot dress properly. She narrates an experience where she was minding her business in a trendy bar, and people were staring at her, like she was a ginger. Lady Sovereign reciprocates the action by giving them the same dirty looks. The bouncer also approaches her because she was dressed inappropriately, with no hood or hats. She and her crew decide to leave the premises and go somewhere else.
Lady Sovereign's "Hoodie" is an ode to having fun and not worrying about other people's opinions of you. She encourages people to express themselves and not be afraid to stand out in a crowd.
Line by Line Meaning
For a second ill be the fashion police
I'll judge your fashion choices for a moment
And I'm just looking at your garms you been on too many catalog sprees
Your clothes are tacky and you've bought them all from catalogs
With your granny fied curtain designs, your hurting my eyes,
Your clothes are ugly and hurtful to look at
You really should revise your dress sense before you walk on by,
You need to rethink your wardrobe before going out in public
I'm kinda mixed up in this disco inferno,
I'm in the midst of a wild party
Baggy jeans and a tight top, lemonade and Pernod
I'm wearing loose-fitting jeans and a tight shirt while drinking a mixed drink
I'm sticking out like a sore thumb but I ain't concerned though, no, uh oh,oh oh oh (boogie)
I stand out but I don't care because I'm having fun (dancing)
[Chorus: x2]
Fling on an A D I D A S hoodie and just boogie woogie with me
Oh
Or you can just. put on your dancing shoes and get loose
Can you get loose can you??
Wear an Adidas hoodie and dance with me or just put your dancing shoes on and join in
So I was up in this trendy bar mingling
I was socializing in a popular bar
My keys around my neck were jingling
My keys were making noise around my neck
And you was looking at me like it was my bling
You were looking at me like my keys were my jewelry
You was staring at me like to say I was ginger
You were staring at me like you were judging me
I was dishing out out the same dirty looks trust me your the minger
I was giving you the same disapproving looks; you're the unattractive one
Who's she, who's that, who's her?
People were asking who other people were
The bouncer was approaching me cause I was dressed really inappropriately
The bouncer thought I was dressed inappropriately
No hood, no hats, no this, no that
The bouncer was saying I couldn't wear certain items
Lets roll uh ol' uh ol' (out)
Let's leave
[Chorus: x2]
Wear an Adidas hoodie and dance with me or just put your dancing shoes on and join in
Right everybody, if you've got someone who cant dress properly,
Attention everyone, if you know someone who doesn't dress well,
Yeah you need to direct them this way.
Send them to me
Why not just cut up all your old clothes
Instead of wearing your old clothes,
And make a quilt so I can wrap myself up when im feeling cold,
Make a blanket I can use when I'm cold
Why not dash your ugly boots on the fire and burn them down to charcoal,
Burn your ugly boots
If your not feeling the way that your bedrin is dressing dont be stressing
If you don't like the way someone dresses, don't stress about it
Send them in my direction please,
Send them to me
Black shoes , white socks, no oh
Don't wear black shoes with white socks
Polka dots, no oh
Don't wear polka dots
Flowery frocks, no oh
Don't wear flowery dresses
Just boogie woogie with me!
Just dance with me!
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: GABRIEL OLEGAVICH, LOUISE HARMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind