Big Midget is Back

Louise Harman a.k.a. Lady Sovereign established herself as one of the most interesting female hip hop artists in the world with her first album, Public Warning. While most female rappers boasted about material possessions and their ability to manipulate the opposite sex, Sovereign was making scathing remarks about stereotypical ideals of femininity and her distrust of society with her razor sharp tongue and wicked sense of humour.

Sovereign’s career appeared to be flourishing when she was signed to Def Jam after impressing Jay Z with an improvised freestyle. In October 2006, Love Me or Hate Me became the first video by a British artist to reach number one on MTV’s Total Request Live in the United States and sold over a million copies worldwide. The London rapper then embarked on a sold out global tour supporting international superstar Gwen Stefani. “Gwen is definitely my favourite person from that experience,” she enthuses. “I spent two months with her and we hung out almost every night. I still talk to her now.”

Sovereign has never been one to hide her true feelings. This has led to her falling victim to malicious press and wannabe celebrity opportunists alike. While promoting Public Warning, Sovereign was accused of starting a fight with Lily Allen, labelled a chav by ignorant journalists and infamously threw a drink at a rival rapper when he taunted her during a show in San Francisco. Speaking with her at her London office, I decide to find out the most ridiculous rumour she has heard about herself so far. She laughs and replies, “The best one I heard was about sporty spice being my mum!”

In May 2007, things started to go horribly wrong. During a performance at Studio B in New York, Sovereign stopped midway through her set and refused to continue, stating that she was suffering from depression and simply did not feel like performing. Sovereign dismisses the incident, stating, “I was just physically drained and pissed off. I just didn’t want to that show.” Later on that year, she parted ways with Def Jam and her career appeared to be in serious jeopardy.

Reflecting on this time in her life, Sovereign shows no signs of bitterness but admits that her relationship with Def Jam was not exactly perfect. She explains: “It was exciting when it first happened but then it got really repetitive.” Choosing her words carefully, she claims, “I don’t think my album was given the exposure it deserved. Everything was based on Love Me or Hate Me. I had no time to go back into the studio so I just walked away and took a break from everything.”

Def Jam may live to regret letting Sovereign go when they her exceptional sophomore album, Jigsaw. This is the Wembley rapper’s first release on her Midget Records label and shows her determination is stronger than ever. Speaking with Sovereign at her London based office, she optimistically states, “I run Midget Records with my manager Zak Biddu. We do everything.” She then adds, “We were lucky to get a good distribution deal with EMI. It is amazing how well things are going considering we run the label from a tiny office.” Sovereign is not rushing into signing any artists to the label just yet though. “I’m looking to find someone but no one has caught my eye yet,” she advises. “I’m just concentrating on getting my album out first.”

On Jigsaw, Sovereign has once again teamed up with long time collaborator and production maestro Medasyn to create an album that can only be described as satisfying, organised chaos. She has previously worked with Pharrell Williams and Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys but when it came to making the new record, there was only one person she wanted by her side. “I love working with Medasyn,” she claims. “We always come up with the goods.” She then declares, “He’s the first person I worked with and he will be the last person I work with.”

The machine gun wit and elaborate word play of Public Warning is still there but the aggressive delivery has been replaced with a much more thoughtful approach. Sovereign shows that she is not afraid to flirt between a broad selection of genres. Jigsaw incorporates sleazy electro, big bass techno and ska whilst tracks such as Pennies prove Sovereign still knows how to make menacing hip hop. “The album is similar to Public Warning because I mess around with a lot of genres. I even sing as well. But it’s not as aggressive.” Then defiantly declares, “People can say they want the old Sov back but I’ve not gone anywhere. I’m just older now.”

Sovereign is currently getting ready to embark upon a massive U.S. tour, followed by a string of UK appearances but insists that this is not a conscious effort to break America. “I just get a lot more attention out there,” she shrugs. “Plus, the more I do the more money I get to put into the label.” Lady Sovereign is back to prove that she is still the biggest midget in the game.