Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Concert Review: Lady Sovereign, Paradise Rock Club, May 3

Lady Sovereign has been upstaged quite a bit since being dubbed "Feminem" and making a splash with Vertically Challenged just four years ago. M.I.A. has come to the forefront for British female hip-hop. Other female British artists have become more newsworthy for some combination of blue-eyed retro soul, MySpace success or substance abuse problems. Still, she drew a sizable crowd to the Paradise on Sunday night.

DJ Annalyze worked the crowd for an extended stretch before Lady Sov and her drummer took the stage. The petite rapper worked the stage, striding from one end to the other and occasionally mugging for the many fans armed with cameras and camera phones. However, she did chide one person near the stage, "Would you please stop texting." She didn't mind the technology as long it was focused on her.

While a few of her songs are undeniably great -- "Love Me or Hate Me" and "Random" were fun for riling up the crowd -- there was nothing to suggest that she's an artist for the ages. For all her energy, she didn't bring enough to her performance or material that was truly outstanding.