The diminuitive British rapper Louise Harman, known as Lady Sovereign, is the first foreign female artist signed by Jay Z's Def Jam label.
Despite her regal title, Lady Sovereign grew up in a public housing project in London, and wears her working-class credentials on her musical sleeve. She comes out of the grime scene in Britain, the stripped-down dance-club hip-hop genre that spawned Dizzee Rascal and The Streets.
Her debut album, Public Warning, has performed well in the United Kingdom and is now available in the States.
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