Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com » Lady Sovereign

No. 36: Lady Sovereign, “Food Play”

Christopher R. Weingarten — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:00:28 +0000

George Costanza gets the rap song he always wanted.

When British rapper Lady Sovereign broke in 2005, the last thing she wanted to be was a sex symbol—she constantly referred to herself as a “midget,” and had more ways to say “fuck you” than an Eskimo has to say “snow.” Hell, even Jay-Z was sold by her wacky, snarky personality—and that was back when he was co-signing Rihanna instead of Cheesecake Drake!

By the time her second album Jigsaw rolled around in 2009, Lady Sov had been exposed to the electro Ebola that’s killing hip-hop and currently turning the pop landscape into a stagnant puddle of sunglasses-at-night neon diarrhea. She apologized for all the bratty behavior that made her interesting, and replaced all her rapping with what my brain tells me is singing but my ears tell me is screeching tires. But her most misguided step came with the syrupy slow jam “Food Play,” a five-fucking-minute dry kiss dedicated to the grossest fetish there is. If she’s joking about having whatever’s lurking in the fridge poured all over her, the joke is awful. If she’s serious, and actually gets turned on by the sight of Bac-Os, then I just don’t know what to do. Maybe send her to R. Kelly, who is generally smoother at this whole “Sex In The Kitchen” thing, because lines like “the way you munch your Quarter Pounder / Oh my, the way you chew that cheese, you sleaze” go beyond sickening and into terrifying “phone sex with Weird Al” territory.

Her microphone is set to “Dan Deacon Ewok Noise” (veerrrry sexy!) and her rhymes about licking her fingers and fucking on dirty dishes are set to “Make me want to fucking vomit.” I better be careful not to puke though, lest I inspire her next song “Roman Shower.”

Though if you’re American, you can learn a thing or two about British culture from “Food Play.” “Twiglets” are popular British snacks that apparently taste like Marmite—which we all know is the sultriest of all completely revolting tastes. “Cherry Pips” are British candy known for their sweet cherry flavor, as well as their resemblance to Lady Sovereign’s nipples. And finally, “sexy” is British slang for “I forgot how to rap.”

Lady Sovereign – Food Play [YouTube]
Lady Sovereign [Official site]
F2K: Idolator Counts Down The 50 Worst Songs Of The ’00s, One By Ear-Splitting One

Maura — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:30:44 +0000

From the Dept. Of Oh, This Is Just Sad On About Ten Different Levels: “… the duo reportedly spent time in a bathroom stall, but a source close to Sov confirms to SPIN.com that actual galpal lip-locking went down. ‘[Lady Sov] said Katy was a good kisser,’ our source relates.” Hey Sugababes: This is a cautionary tale. Just saying. [Spin]

Maura — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:30:00 +0000

Lady Sovereign has a new song (the glitchy “I Got You Dancing”), a new hairdo, and a new AutoTune machine. And she has a new album on the horizon, Jigsaw, which she is not-shyly referring to as “a massive leap forward for mankind!!!” See what a makeover can do for your self-confidence, everyone? [MySpace]

Liner Notes: Brandy Needs To Get Her Acronyms Straight

Brian Raftery — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:45:25 +0000

- This TMZ item on Brandy is admirable in how it goes from unintentionally funny to intentionally funny to absurd in just a few sentences. Except for the part about the person dying. That’s not funny. [TMZ]
- A federal judge has ruled that deputies did not use excessive force when they arrested Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson during a 2003 altercation in Florida. The decision took fourteen minutes to read aloud, and included a drum solo consisting entirely of cymbal crashes. [AP]
- Lady Sovereign has canceled the rest of her European tour, due to obscurity. [NME]

Liner Notes: Sanjaya’s Endorsement-Deal Possibilities Take Wing

Brian Raftery — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 06:38:10 +0000

-Kentucky Fried Chicken wants Sanjaya Malakar to pull a Fall Out Boy. [TMZ]
- Country singer Billy Joe Shaver is wanted by police after he allegedly shot and wounded a man Saturday night in Texas. The incident makes Shaver the third most dangerous 67-year-old in the country, right after John Negroponte and Harvey Keitel. [Billboard]
- Lady Sovereign has canceled a handful of European dates, citing “exhaustion” and “midgetry.” [NME]

Liner Notes: Lady Sov Kick-Starts Most Irrelevant British-Musician Feud Yet

Brian Raftery — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 05:06:26 +0000

- Lady Sovereign recently launched into a verbal attack on Corrine Bailey Rae, whom Sov refered to as “Corinne ‘Boring’ Rae.” Looks like we just found our new headline writer! [NME]
- This year’s Sasquatch Festival will include headlining sets from the Beastie Boys, Bjork, the Arcade Fire and Interpol. [Billboard]
- Former Counting Crows singer Adam Duritz has started his own record label, tentatively titled Big N’ Dickish. [AP]

Apparently, Lady Sovereign Angered The Wrong Man With A Donut-Costumed Friend

Maura — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 10:16:38 +0000

Remember Zach Slow, the guy who spent $10,000 on Lady Sovereign, only to get dissed by her in the press? It would appear that he isn’t going to let this whole thing drop, going so far as to enlist his friend to challenge Sov to a duel last night in San Francisco. The twist? The friend was dressed up like a jelly donut:

During the show, supporters of the kid handed out images of a Jelly Donut with the instructions, “hold this up and chant for Jelly Donut after the fourth song.” The girl leads off with her most popular jam, followed by a couple of forgettable tracks. The crowd is anxious (well, at least I was) when the fourth song arrives. Some people hold up their donuts. Nothing happens.

After the fourth song, the girl notices the guy in the audience and starts taunting him, “you fucking kid. You stoner. I love SF but I hate this kid. You fucking grandma’s boy. You stoner.. you’re just a Beavis! Hahaha (lauging at self) Hahaha.” Meanwhile, people have started chanting “JEL-LY… JEL-LY… JEL-LY…” and the bouncers are running around the audience and hopping up on stage. The girl spits her her drink at the donut, and the audience retaliates with some more liquid, tagging her square in the face. Bouncers continue to bounce, the girl drops another song, the crowd is quelled, and the donut is ejected.

Slow and his pals are apparently planning a fourth round of heckling, fighting, and blogging, and while we love a good stunt, we also love a good stunt that knows when it’s run its course. Zach, take our advice: It’s time to let it go, mainly because if you keep this up, you will never get a date again.

Lady not so Sovereign in SF [overstated.net]
Previously: Lady Sovereign Gets Called Out For Being Grandma-Dissing Brat
[Photo via telethon]

Lady Sovereign Gets Called Out For Being Grandma-Dissing Brat

Maura — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:28:15 +0000

TRL may have loved Lady Sovereign, but they didn’t spend $10,000 on a date with her, then get dissed for being “boring.” That happened to Zach Slow, the Bay Area ~~sucker~~ resident who raised money online to wine and dine the pint-sized rapper–only to read that Lady Sov, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, had complained about not bringing along her crew, and the presence of a photographer. Slow responded:

I’ve just spent a month working my butt off to go party with a famous rapper. Why would I want a photographer and cameraman in my face during the few measly hours I have with her? Now put yourself in her shoes. You’re an up-and-coming rapper who disses fans’ grandparents. You’re about to release an album and would like to get lots of publicity. So you bring a film crew and a cameraman to shoot the whole thing. It was her management that insisted a crew be there to get some publicity shots — I was the one fighting that.

Yeesh. Can someone get this chick some media training? Between this and her recent string of disastrous shows, we feel like we’re watching a rerun of last year play out all over again, only with the added “features” of grandma-bashing and an album that’s taking a nosedive down the Billboard 200.

~~Lady Sovereign – A Little Bit Of Shhh~~ [MP3, link expired]
San Francisco man who raised money for a ‘date’ with Lady Sovereign tells his side of story [sfgate.com]

Liner Notes: Paris, Texas Get In A Bit Of A Scrap

Maura — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 07:46:18 +0000

- The latest fist-flying musical feud: Paris Hilton vs. Texas. Not the state, mind you–the band that Foregone Conclusion opened for back in the day. [ITV]
- TRL darling Lady Sovereign cuts a Los Angeles show short due to a chest infection. [Pitchfork]
- Just what the world needed: Korn unplugged. [Blabbermouth.net]

On The Shelf: Tomorrow’s New Releases Revealed Today

Maura — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 06:40:22 +0000

Welcome to On The Shelf, Idolator’s weekly look at the new releases hitting stores on Tuesday. This week’s slate is curiously light on both holiday music–although we do kind of want to hear the Bootsy Collins Christmas album–but it has what may be a surefire No. 1 contender in the new collection of ’60s songs from Barry Manilow. (Hey, it worked for Rod Stewart.) We’ve already given you a chance to suffer through Playing With Fire; after the jump, we look at Manilow’s new full-length, as well as offerings from Deftones, Willie Nelson, Birdman & Lil Wayne, and Lady Sovereign.

Barry Manilow, The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties
The artist: Maternally beloved crooner who isn’t writing the songs on this go-round.
The sound: Smoothed-out reinterpretations of Elvis, the Beatles, and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You.”
The first in line: A good chunk of the 35-54 demographic, if the No. 1 debut of his last decade-themed collection is anything to go by.

Deftones, Saturday Night Wrist
The artist: Sacramento’s architects of wide-open rock spaces.
The sound: Crushing guitars, crashing drums, and lots of echo.
The first in line: We’re going to guess that a lot of people buying this record will just mosey over to the store after their 2 p.m. wake-up calls.

Willie Nelson, Songbird
The artist: Country’s red-headed stranger, with an assist from Ryan Adams.
The sound: Covers of “Hallelujah,” “Amazing Grace,” and the Grateful Dead that sneak into Whiskeytown here and there.
The first in line: Marijuana legalization advocates, Stereogum readers curious to see who the “old guy” is.

Birdman & Lil Wayne, Like Father Like Son
The artist: Cash Money’s heaviest hitters celebrate their teacher/student relationship.
The sound: Filthy beats, brain-bending rhymes.
The first in line: Someone who hasn’t already downloaded it, most likely.

Lady Sovereign, Public Warning
The artist: Britain’s tiniest, brattiest MC.
The sound: Ringtone-ready blips mixed with boastful attitude.
The first in line: The download-happy cognoscenti tired of her an Internet era ago–but will the TRL-voting masses want to spend their money on a full-length CD?

On The CD Front [pauseandplay.com]