Influenced by her mother's Salt-N-Pepa albums, Sovereign began writing her own raps at the age of 14 and uploaded her Chalkhill stories to a So Solid Crew Internet fan forum. It was there where she met her longtime DJ, Frampster. Two years later she dropped out of school and landed a gig acting in an educational film about the life of an up-and-coming MC. She convinced the producers that she could construct a soundtrack for the film, the demos for which landed in the hands of Medasyn. The producer partnered his discovery with Frost P, Zuz Rock, and Shystie for a male MC vs. female MC 12" he was working on titled The Battle. Released in 2003 on Casual Records, The Battle began a string of singles that would push Sovereign into the spotlight.
While A Little Bit of Shhh!, 9 to 5, and Ch Ching were flying out of the record bins, free Internet-only freestyles like Tango and Cheeky were becoming just as popular with the grime faithful. She began 2005 by appearing on the vital grime compilation Run the Road -- both as a solo artist and with the Streets -- then collected some singles and released the Vertically Challenged EP on Chocolate Industries. She capped off the year by meeting with hip-hop megastar and label CEO Jay-Z. With Usher and L.A. Reid seated next to him, Jay-Z asked for one on-the-spot freestyle from Sovereign before offering her a contract with Def Jam. With the fist-raising single Hoodie leading the way, Lady Sovereign released her full-length debut, Public Warning, on Def Jam in 2006. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi
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Love Me Or Hate Me |
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9 to 5 |
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So Human |