Diminutive English rapper Lady Sovereign’s first album showcased a mélange of sounds, repping everything from UK garage to punked-up drum n’ bass. In the subsequent whirlwind of attention, the cheeky singer signed to Def Jam (Jay-Z inked the deal himself), scored Missy Elliott for a remix of the TRL-topping track “Love Me Or Hate Me,” and hit the road with Gwen Stefani. Music media built on the buzz, championing the pint-sized powerhouse as grime’s ambassador in America.

So what happened to her? After a bit of soul searching, Sov realized she didn’t want to be on a major label or be considered grime’s great white hope, and she went into incubation. Finally ready to poke her head back in the stage door, Sov is rather humbly releasing her second album, Jigsaw, April 7th on her own label, Midget Records. Three recent stateside gigs revealed a more mature, subdued side of Sov, who has traded in Adidas tracksuits and a side ponytail for streetwear and a down ‘do. Earplug rang her in London to chat about tossing her cookies at McDonald’s, ditching her trademark tracksuit, dropping diss tracks for Lady Gaga, and getting down with Playboy’s wee ol’ wabbit. … Read More