Lady Sovereign (born Louise Amanda Harman, 1985, in Wembley, London) is a British grime MC. Raised primarily on the Chalkhill Estate (a council housing estate in North-West London) and having dropped out of school with no qualifications, she is one of the UK's very few white female MCs, and is often cited as part of the rising British grime scene. Citing Ms. Dynamite as an influence, she has supported The Streets, Dizzee Rascal and Basement Jaxx on tour.

She signed to Def Jam Recordings in 2005, after impressing the label's president and CEO, Jay-Z. She is expected to release a studio album in 2006.

She first received attention when she recorded The Battle, a freestyle girls versus boys battle rap with Shystie, Suz Rock and Frost P. Each rapper who recorded in The Battle has since found a record deal.

Due to the commercial failure of her grime records, her record label made her change her style of music to suit a more pop/rap culture. 9 To 5 was released and stated how her record label had influenced her change. 9 To 5 entered the lower regions of the UK Top 40 - her biggest hit to date. The follow-up single Hoodie - a collaboration with dance act Basement Jaxx - failed to enter the Top 40. Lady Sovereign has since recorded with AdRock from the legendary rap group the Beastie Boys and Missy Elliot.

In May 2006 she had her biggest hit to date as she features on the latest The Ordinary Boys single, 'Nine2Five', a remixed version of her song '9 to 5' and credited as The Ordinary Boys vs Lady Sovereign. It entered #38 in the UK top 40 singles on downloads only, and jumped to #6 upon becoming available to buy on CD from the week commencing 22/05/2006.

Lady Sovereign is the first non-American female on Def Jam. Her lack of success in the UK may be due in part to her being seen as representative of chav culture. She was featured on a Sky One documentary on chavs produced by Julie Burchill after having been the target of a barrage of abuse and ridicule on the internet forum ChavScum.

--Wikipedia