Vol. 11 #04: Thursday, January 5, 2006
Calgary's News & Entertainment Weekly
FFWD Weekly
CD REVIEW
by FFWD WRITER
LADY SOVEREIGN
Vertically Challenged
Chocolate Industries

· I know Sovereign is only about five feet tall, but I’m pretty sure she’s tough enough to kick my ass.

Anyone who picked up the U.K. grime compilation Run the Road earlier this year was probably devastated by Lady Sovereign’s "Cha Ching." The 19-year-old U.K. MC spits rhymes with the speed and style of a female Dizzee Rascal and recently caught the ear of U.S. hip hop heavyweight Jay Z, who signed her to his Roc-a-fella records. Until the full-length drops, Vertically Challenged (an eight-song collection of singles and remixes, is more than enough to give you a taste of the Lady’s skills. The production on the originals and remixes is solid, but it’s Sov’s lyrics (twisted with an accent as heavy as the beats behind it) that make the material. It’s clear that this girl has been listening to hip hop her whole life and while Vertically Challenged flirts with many of mainstream hip hop’s tired clichés, Sov gives it a wildly inventive spin.

3/5

JASON LEWIS

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