Lady Sovereign

• Vertically Challenged [Chocolate Industries, 2005] A-
• Public Warning [Def Jam, 2006] ***
• Jigsaw [Midget, 2009] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Vertically Challenged [Chocolate Industries, 2005]
Horizontally challenged as well, both voicewise and beatwise. But grime minimalism suits the female register--voice and beats fit together nice and snug. And though her wisdom is hemmed in by her accent and the youth she puts on the auction block, this shorty has more cheek than Dizzy Gillespie, never mind Dizzee Rascal. A-

Public Warning [Def Jam, 2006]
Volume duly fiddled, "Fiddle With the Volume" still isn't a banger ("Love Me or Hate Me," "Random"). ***

Jigsaw [Midget, 2009]
She tried to show the Yanks at Def Jam how funky she was, only she wasn't, so now she's stuck on a DIY imprint that with her chin-up sass she claims leaves her free as a bird. Actually, of course, she'll take any job she can get, and pragmatism suits her. Rapping or singing, club or pop, she's cranking ditties so insignificant they're precious, like a bottle shard that resembles a bulldog's head or a constable's badge. For her grime now is punk. Soused at the student union bar, licking Haagen-Dazs off her beau in literally filthy foreplay, she's weird and you're weird. That makes you mates. A-