Lady Sovereign
Album: Vertically Challenged
Release Date: November 15, 2005
Label: Chocolate Industries

Review:
When UK teen Lady Sovereign dropped "Random" this past spring, bloggers on both sides of the pond collectively freaked. The single brashly took aim at Yankee rappers and the 19-year-old wunderkind was, apparently, the new Queen of Hip-Hop. The Fader Magazine blessed Sov with cover credits (she had only a handful of material floating on the web) and Jay-Z’s Island/Def Jam grabbed her for a ’06 debut.

So where’s the cocky, headstrong emcee that dazzled her way into overnight celebrity? On "Ch-Ching" from the Run the Road comp, Sov boasted "I’ve got 50 things to say in a cheeky kind of way" and we gave her the benefit of the doubt. On Vertically Challenged (Chocolate Industries), Sov stumbles through 8 things and it turns out she has very little to actually say.

No doubt, Sov’s production is more coherent and melodic than other grime exports like Dizzee Rascal and Wiley; Menta’s "Random" is the closest thing to an English dancefloor burner you’ll hear this year even with Riko’s messy, phoned-in verse from prison. Beastie Boys’ Ad Rock steps out to bless Sov with a remix, retrofit with driving digital snares and frenetic tempo worthy of a Billy Blanks infomerical. But the Wembley native shortchanges her production. With style-free choruses like, "Abuse your speakers/lose your manners/disturb the neighbors/this one’s a banger," on "Fiddle With The Volume," Sov sounds listless and apathetic. Frost P utterly upends his host on the 8-minute, war of the sexes "The Battle," barreling through a fiery, furious speed-rap. Even the gratuitously multi-tracked vocals fail to give her the authority to carry the torch alone.

Who knows? Maybe Lady Sov’s full-length will make good on Def Jam’s speculative investment and you can tear up this review and quit badmouthing this reviewer on your blog. But don’t hold your breath; Vertically Challenged is in dire need of intensive care.

No profanity, or inaproppriate remarks.