Lady Sovereign already rules the U.K. grime scene. Now she’s getting ready to stake her claim stateside. By Luke Crisell. Photographed by Alexander Thompson

Chav: A popular U.K. slang term, referring to a sub-cultural set prone to wearing flashy “bling” jewellery and (fake) Burberry caps, and congregating around places such as fast-food outlets or other shopping areas (sometimes called “chavaramas”).

“I’m one of the, like, top 20 chavs in the U.K.!” exclaims Lady Sovereign (born Louise Harman), with a touch of pride. I nod in acknowledgement of her achievement: What number? “Four, like!” That’s official? “Yeah, it was on the Website of this TV channel. People call me a chav all the time, but I just find it funny. I think it’s wicked, like.”

At just 19 years old, Lady Sovereign (she’s also commonly called “Sov,” or “Ess Oh Vee”) is the first female rapper to emerge as a successful solo artist from the London grime scene, of which she’s been a mainstay for the past three years. Her debut album, Public Warning is at once a product of that movement and a reaction to it. Drawing on hip-hop, krunk, garage, and two genres less common in grime ska and punk, Sovereign MCs over big bass drums and abrasive percussion with an A~©lan that makes her music more accessible than a lot of grime, without ever losing her edge. Her big break came when she made a guest appearance on the remix of The Streets’ “Fit But You Know It.” All of a sudden, the girl who wasn’t considered good enough to flip burgers found herself with support gigs for Dizzee Rascal and Basement Jaxx, a multi-million-dollar deal with Universal and the somewhat auspicious nickname of brace yourselves Feminem.

“It’s weird, I can’t explain how it even happened,” she says, shaking her head. Sovereign’s hair is scraped back tightly, and she’s wearing, as usual, her unofficial uniform of an Adidas tracksuit. And she’s dripping in bling. Does she ever wear anything else? “Mate, I wore a tracksuit to my sister’s wedding,” she says, without so much as a blink. Seriously? She giggles and says, “Oh, it weren’t just any old tracksuit. It was a nice one. It was one of those white and gold Missy Elliot ones. I ’ad to walk down the aisle and everything, ’cos I was a bridesmaid and shit.” I ask her if her image is a deliberate part of the “Ess Oh Vee” persona. “I’m not going to start flashing off my tits. The only time they come out is when I’m in the shower or bath.” As she explains this, she feels the need to point to her breasts. An old man in the corner looks up with interest.

Lady Sovereign may not be the most decorous of rappers, but right now she is by far the most exciting. And, after all, there’s nothing wrong with a little attitude.