Lady Sovereign

Lady Sovereign, the pint-sized U.K. MC who was so hot a few years ago Jay-Z signed her, thinking she could crack the American hip-hop monopoly, is back with a new album, a newly eclectic sound, and her own new label. When she dropped 2006’s Public Warning, she was being called the new Eminem. Since then she’s ditched the track suits and once-trademark ponytail. She’s also evolved beyond her grime scene origins, but on Jigsaw she still spits rhymes at a breakneck pace and talks all kinds of shit. And “So Human” could prove to be her “Paper Planes,” taking Lady Sovereign to the next level the way that song propelled fellow British rapper M.I.A. into the mainstream.

PLAYBOY: Given that your label is called Midget and you are always talking about your size, we have say you are taller than we expected.

LADY SOVEREIGN: I’ve grown like maybe a centimeter. Shit happens. I do feel a bit taller these days for some reason and I hate it. I see all these people who are shorter than me and I think, You bitch. I envy that. The shorter the better.

PLAYBOY: How much did the Cure get for the “Close To Me” sample in your song “So Human”?

LADY SOVEREIGN: Robert Smith took 60 percent of that song. But I would have done the same if someone was using my song. Shit happens. I’m just glad the sample cleared. That’s the only one on the album. I don’t like to sample. But I like that song and I’ve always wanted to sample it. It just came into my head and I felt I had to do it. I was thinking of getting him in the video but I don’t think it would look right—this old man, you know. Maybe another time—maybe I’ll use another one of their songs. I really like “Lovecats.” Maybe I’ll fuck with that. But I can’t keep ripping off their songs.



PLAYBOY: Last time around, people were talking about you and M.I.A. in the same breath—the two up-and-coming British MCs who might finally break the mainstream U.S. hip-hop market. How does her success affect you?

LADY SOVEREIGN: She’s blown up big-time. Good on her. She makes quite leftfield music and it’s a relief that it’s blown up. I hope many more people start to realize there is more out there than just the regular shit.

PLAYBOY: Jigsaw definitely sounds like a step forward. Are there specific things you’ve been listening to that contributed to the musical evolution?

LADY SOVEREIGN: I’m compulsive with music. I need everything, I want to hear everything. I want to try everything. Just to hear a kick drum or whatever excites me. There’s a lot of live instrumentation on this album as opposed to things generated on the computer. I listen to tons of stuff—I spend so much on music it’s ridiculous. Which is apparent when I make music—there’s so much blended into my songs and onto my albums.

PLAYBOY: Can you hear when a something you’re working on is going to be a hit?

LADY SOVEREIGN: I listen to my songs a lot and the ones I listen to the most are the ones I know are going to be the big ones. I love my stuff. I really do. I blare my songs. I’m well proud of it. It’s nice to hear what I’ve done, hear my voice.

PLAYBOY: What’s been the coolest part of your own success?

LADY SOVEREIGN: The coolest thing is traveling. When I was a kid we never went on holidays. The first time I went abroad was for my musical career, when I was 18. Now I’ve been everywhere—Europe, Australia, Japan, America. My family have never been anywhere. I’m a globetrotter and I don’t think they even realize what I’ve achieved.

PLAYBOY: You travel so much that you gave up your apartment and moved back home. What’s it like: “Hey dad, I’m just going out to be a rock star….”?

LADY SOVEREIGN: That’s how it is. “Hi, I’m just back from Australia, I’m home now. Sorry I didn’t tell you.” Sometimes I’ll just leave without saying where I’m going. “Where have you been?” “I’ve just been to America, sorry.” At least my dinner is cooked for me. My dad cooks a lot of roast dinners. Roast chicken and veggies with gravy. And I make a nice spaghetti Bolognese myself.

PLAYBOY: What about on tour—are you a foodie?

LADY SOVEREIGN: I will try anything, but I always look out for a decent swordfish. It has to be a good place because you can’t eat shit swordfish. In Japan I ate some live baby eels once. I’m up for anything.

PLAYBOY: How do you prepare for shows?

LADY SOVEREIGN: As long as there’s plenty of Red Bull backstage I’m fine. I could drink that without alcohol and be all over the place. I drink and laugh. I smoke illegally in the venues—cigarettes. I couldn’t blaze a joint before I went on stage. I did that before and I had to cancel my show halfway through—it was just like, Whoa. I thought I was going to fall over. It was bad. I normally just drink and hang with my DJ or my band—the more people and booze the better.


Photo: Derek Santini