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.
tango
Lady Sovereign Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bring out the bucket, bring out the cloth,
bring out the liquid, bring out the lot, if not, lets roll her to a car wash
Now washin' you will be like washin' a goth all that black lipsticks round their gobs, how the fuck do we get it off i think this is gonna be a very hard job.
How did ya get a tan like that in winter ya ran off to boots n got a box of tinter... dint you!
See... u still got orange fingers!!
Wot network are you on... "orange"
Color of your bathwater... "orange"
I think your favorite fruit must be an orange
B**** did you know your orange
Slap, bang you gotta fake tan b**** you look like the tango man
Bogebogebo do the tango bogebogebo do the tango [Repeat: x2]
... "it's the gone-wrong salon"...
Your clothes keep wrippin' like your the female incredible hulk,
you gotta broken bra, a broken top, a broken phone n a broken coat,
you've bin wearin' the the same jacket since you was in year 8
and it smells like you urinate on it b****, that ain't great.
You tried to be Christina so ya died ya hair black,
but really you looked like the vicar of Dibley.."wot!"... on crack!
Now step back and just face the facts you don't like the fact i get facety on wax, anyways talkin' about wax, look at your face, girl relax!!
[Chorus]
Why not flimmer on the window, saw as a pumpkin, when its approaching halloween,
or on ya English breakfast place her next to the bacon she could be the beans,
and you always know where shes been and you always know when shes had a pee,
'Cause the toilet seat ain't clean, the toilet seat has an orange sheen... "ching"...
Bring out the detergent, scrub that Umpa Lumpa its urgent,
have you seen her face its disturbin',
how much fake tan are ya squirtin' errr its hurtin' ma eyes its startin' to look like a sunrise
and ya fake tans so "ming!!" you are attracting flies!
[Chorus: x2]
Slap, bang you gotta fake tan b**** you look like the tango man
bogebogebo do the tango bogebogebo do the tango [Repeat: x4]
"You got tangoed! and you know the worst thing... You done it yourself hahaha!"
The song "Tango" by Lady Sovereign is a satirical commentary on fake tanning and the obsession with the color orange. The lyrics describe a person who has gone overboard with fake tanning, with orange fingers and a sun-kissed tan even in winter. Lady Sovereign mocks this person for their fake tan, their broken clothes, and their poor hygiene. The chorus repeatedly emphasizes the orange color - the network they're on, the color of their bathwater, and their favorite fruit. The lyrics take aim at the beauty and fashion industries for promoting unrealistic and unhealthy beauty standards.
The song provides a humorous take on a serious issue. Fake tanning has become increasingly popular in recent years, and it is a controversial topic. Lady Sovereign's lyrics highlight the absurdity of this trend, while also pointing out the dangers of fake tanning. The song is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking.
Overall, "Tango" is a fun and catchy song with a deeper message about society's obsession with beauty standards. It encourages listeners to challenge these ideals and embrace their natural beauty.
Line by Line Meaning
Once again yea make way for the... S.O.V
Introducing Lady Sovereign
Bring out the bucket, bring out the cloth, bring out the liquid, bring out the lot, if not, lets roll her to a car wash
You need all cleaning supplies because she is a mess
Now washin' you will be like washin' a goth all that black lipsticks round their gobs, how the fuck do we get it off i think this is gonna be a very hard job.
Cleaning you up is like cleaning a goth with black lipstick all over their mouths, which is difficult
How did ya get a tan like that in winter ya ran off to boots n got a box of tinter... dint you!
How did you get such a tan in winter? You bought a box of tinter from Boots
See... u still got orange fingers!!
You still have orange fingers from the fake tan
Wot network are you on... "orange"
Joke that her fake tan is so orange she's on a network called Orange
Color of your bathwater... "orange"
Continuation of the joke about her fake tan
I think your favorite fruit must be an orange
Continuation of the joke about her fake tan
B**** did you know your orange
Her fake tan is so orange she's being rude and calling her a b****
Slap, bang you gotta fake tan b**** you look like the tango man
Her fake tan is so bad that she looks like the tango man
Bogebogebo do the tango bogebogebo do the tango [Repeat: x2]
Part of the chorus
"it's the gone-wrong salon"...
She's saying the salon messed up her fake tan
Your clothes keep wrippin' like your the female incredible hulk, you gotta broken bra, a broken top, a broken phone n a broken coat, you've bin wearin' the the same jacket since you was in year 8 and it smells like you urinate on it b****, that ain't great.
Your clothes are always ripping apart like you're the female Incredible Hulk. You have broken items, you've been wearing the same jacket since year 8, and it smells like you urinated on it.
You tried to be Christina so ya died ya hair black, but really you looked like the vicar of Dibley.."wot!"... on crack!
You tried to be like Christina Aguilera and dyed your hair black but ended up looking like the Vicar of Dibley on crack
Now step back and just face the facts you don't like the fact i get facety on wax, anyways talkin' about wax, look at your face, girl relax!!
Face the fact that she's being rude and saying it's her job to say mean things in her music. She also points out that the person could use some facial relaxation, which refers to the fake tan
Why not flimmer on the window, saw as a pumpkin, when its approaching halloween, or on ya English breakfast place her next to the bacon she could be the beans, and you always know where shes been and you always know when shes had a pee, 'Cause the toilet seat ain't clean, the toilet seat has an orange sheen... "ching"...
She's saying the person's fake tan is so bad that it could be used instead of a pumpkin for Halloween or as the beans on an English breakfast. She also jokes that you always know when the person has peed because the toilet seat has an orange sheen
Bring out the detergent, scrub that Umpa Lumpa its urgent, have you seen her face its disturbin', how much fake tan are ya squirtin' errr its hurtin' ma eyes its startin' to look like a sunrise and ya fake tans so "ming!!" you are attracting flies!
Bring out the detergent and scrub the fake tan off because it's urgent. Her face is disturbing and she's using too much fake tan which is hurting Lady Sovereign's eyes, and it looks like a sunrise. Her fake tan is so bad that it's attracting flies.
"You got tangoed! and you know the worst thing... You done it yourself hahaha!"
She's saying that the person looks like they've been tangoed (fake tanned). The worst part is that they did it themselves and it looks bad. She's laughing about it.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: GABRIEL OLEGAVICH, LOUISE AMANDA HARMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ANGUSRAZE
If this was released today especially with the major reappearance of grime in mainstream British music scene she would b back on top, she's defo a trend setter
Sadie James
I still love lady sovereign!!! I wish she carried on making music!! Takes me right back to my teens
Anarchitron
For some reason, every version of this song I download, it never has the crushing guitar or Sov's higher vocal. I tested it on all my computers and headsets. It's coming through fine right now so I keep getting stuck with a lo-fi version :(
Abraham Ray
The song is meant to mock anyone who uses spray-on tan.
NFK WORLD SERVICE JAPAN (English Broadcasts)
Thanks for clearing that up! we thought it was about oranges. cough.
Beth Talbot
hmm reminds me of someone....
CJ Duffy
Trump's theme song
Pexxious
Omg i wanted to say that :'D
Kesha Rhinestone
Omg, I was about to leave my own comment calling this "the ultimate Donald Trump diss track" If I decide to cover this track, I'll subtitle it "Donald Trump diss"
Kesha Rhinestone
I may even throw in the line "if you come to London, I'll dump you in The River Thames" to make it an obvious diss track.