As the UK grime scene implodes into an increasingly paranoid corner of East London, a few refugees have fled the black hole. Louise Harman aka Lady Sovereign aka “the biggest midget in the game” left Jay-Z sufficiently impressed for Def Jam to release Public Warning. This debut has a high quotient of previously released material but for 99 per cent of the human race, it’s new.
Whether you take this album to your heart or break it into tiny, tiny pieces will depend on your reaction to Sov herself. She amplifies the whimsical, cartoon side of grime rather than the macho posturing (think ‘Pies’ not ‘Cockback’). Her voice morphs between ragga toasting and pitched up coos and swoons – from yardie to munchkin and back.
Sov is given a hand by four producers. We get the abrasive, pissed off version of Basement Jaxx on ‘Blah Blah’; Menta (purveyors of quality beats to Kano, Ms Dynamite and grime legend Frank Sidebottom) give ‘Random’ plenty of bass oomph but leave ‘Gatheration’ underpowered; Dr Luke scores with the Tetris electro of ‘Love Me Or Hate Me’ but pairs the nostalgic ‘Those Were The Days’ with an old school “they don’t make hip-hop like when I were a lad” fest that sets the controls for the heart of the snooze button. A mate of pop Ra-Ra-Rasputin Max Martin and part of SNL’s house band, Dr Luke has been presumably been recruited to help Sov stroke America until it rolls over and wags its legs in the air.
However for most of the album, Sov’s loyal companion is Medasyn. The two of them cook up Lily-Allen-with-knuckledusters ska on ‘9 to 5’ and ‘Hoodie’; a fucked-up tango for the bitchery of ‘Tango’; the arthritic orchestra that lurches across ‘My England’ like a gout-ridden aristo; and even, Lord have mercy, grime beats on ‘A Little Bit Of Shhh.’ This shotgun scatter hits as many innocent bystanders as felons but matches Sov’s hyperreal vision of everyday life.
The Jigga man is no doubt betting that Sov will replace Eminem now that he’s gone rubbish but I fear she will leave the Yanks cold. Her funny accent and the strange slang will find favour neither with gangster poseurs nor the undie backpacker nerds. The road is going to be rocky for Sov but this album shows the many wonderful places that road could lead.
Matthew Moore
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