Disco de Lady Sovereign: “Jigsaw”

For her age (24), Lady Sovereign has already accomplished allot in her career. Despite being young, white, and British, Sovereign is the first foreign female artist signed by Def-Jam records. Jigsaw is her second album.

Sovereign definitely has a different sound than most American rappers. Her sound is a little poppy (somewhat like the Veronicas), a little techno, and of course a little hip-hop. Her newest Album, Jigsaw is listenable, but I found it a bit stale by track 4. The problem is that her songs all kinda sound the same. My favorite tracks are 2 (So Human)and 7 (Guitar), which also seem to be the most distinctive tracks on the album.

In sum, Jigsaw is listenable and has some good songs for dancing, but I wouldn't pay more that 8 dollars for it.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not a hip-hop fan, but I do enjoy electronic music (e.g., Ladytron, Client, etc.) and pop divas such as Lady Gaga. This album seems a bit schizophrenic. The first few cuts strive for that pop hook that will sell the album across multiple categories. I find that the latter part of the album, which I'd toss into the more traditional hip-hop category, is more enjoyable and doesn't seem to be trying too hard. Perhaps it's because this is where Lady Sovereign is in more familiar territory.

My summation: This is a listenable, light-weight summer album without a lot of depth or innovation. Great background music for a party, but not something I'd turn to when scrolling through my iPod looking for something specific.

I pinged a friend who is deeply familiar with this genre and she had a similar response saying that "[Lady Sovereign's] sound didn't seem that original."

I'm admittedly not a big fan of hip hop, but Lady Sovereign's attempt certainly leaves mixed results.

Yeah, it's not really hip hop, but rap with a somewhat fused hip-hop/techno backdrop. The result is interesting, but she does come across as somewhat grating and the "tune" competes with her in terms of who can be more grating/loud.

Don't get me wrong...I love loud music, but I actually get a headache trying to filter her words through the haze of sound.

My only other quip is the rather over-used cliche of having an artist use his/her name as a "story" point in a song. Oh, really? Is that how you like things? Is that how you want them? How many hundreds of time has that been poetic device been shoved through my inner ear?

The only redeeming track, however, is an interesting spin on an old Cure tune with "So Human." It's a pretty good track overall, well-produced, and certainly showcases Lady Sovereign as someone who may have a potential future in the industry. But the remaining tracks can easily be left on the side of the road without any loss.

If you can buy an individual track, go with "So Human". Avoid the rest of the album.

Lady Sovereign makes some awesome music! It is not exactly rap/hip-hop, as it has a much more up-beat tone, and change in sound. Instead of having a constant mundane beat that gets old after listening to it over and over, there is a lot of change in the tone. I think part of what I like about her music is the way she changes her voice's tone a lot, which adds to the music. All of this combined make for music that does not have the pattern of an over-used chorus. Most choruses are delightful, and catchy in Lady Sovereign's music.

The music is more jovial, and has a happier tune in comparison to most. The lyrics can be described as "cute" and "fun" instead of the normal and more serious type of lyrics that tend to revolve around romance, love, or a hard life found in most music. The accent also gives the music a different feel, and makes it stand out against the rest of my collection as a unique sounding masterpiece. Definitely a pleasure to listen to!

Lady Sovereign is good at what she does - rap.

Unfortunately, there are some songs on this 10 track album which I feel aren't up to par to her previous works. At times the songs can seem downright repetitive and some just don't work - props to some expansion of her style though.

Here's a track by track by track rating with comparisons of other artists/songs/genres.

1. Let's be Mates - 2/5. Think Azzido De Base having a kid with Cake (The band not the food). Decent beat nonsensical lyrics. Not enjoyable from Sovereign.

2. So Human - 5/5. Best track on the album hands down. Samples the Cure's "Close to Me".

3. Jigsaw - 2/5. She's singing - kinda like Kanye trying to sing sans Autotune. Horrible.

4. Bang Bang - 2/5. A Black Eye Pea-like track unfortunately not a good one.

5. I Got You Dancing - 4/5. Certainly like a good Black Eye Peas song catchy and pop-py.

6. Pennies - 3/5. I swear she channeled M.I.A. for this track. Would have liked it more had it been M.I.A. not Sovereign.

7. Guitar - 4/5. Think Kanye West/ Twista. Has the violins. Certainly good beat and production value.

8. Student Union - 2/5 . Rastafarian in nature (Reggae) its like a copy of track 1 with reggae beat. Too repetitive - like Kelis' "Milkshake" in a bad way.

9. Food Play - 3/5 Mediocre follow up track. Sounds like Gangsta Rap of the 90's. Somewhat out of character for her but a good changeup.

10. I Got The Goods - 4/5 Reminiscent of Kelis's "Milkshake" in a good way - Unique and catchy. Unfortunately many of the songs seem too repetitive.

Overall 3.5/5

Had it not been for a few repetitive tracks and some just downright scary ones 4 was possible.

But give her props she really is expanding her style - Unfortunately, it comes off like M.I.A. or Kelis and sometimes both.

Again best track - "So Human" by a mile!