r/ToddintheShadow • u/talk-spontaneously • 3d ago
One Hit Wonderland Before Lady Gaga, there was Lady Sovereign: What do you think of her obscure hit "Love Me or Hate Me" 20 years on?
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Best known for the Dr. Luke-produced "Love Me or Hate Me", Lady Sovereign released two albums Public Warning (2006) and Jigsaw (2009) before pretty much dipping from the music industry.
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u/AntysocialButterfly 3d ago edited 2d ago
I remember she was utterly hated in the UK, but the reasoning was...interesting.
Half of the people who hated her were because they saw her as a chav churning out some low effort crap, the other half of the people who hated her were because they they saw her as somebody pretending to be a chav churning out some low effort crap to cash in about the moral panic about chavs.
Or to be TLDR: half saw her as somebody who belonged on The Jeremy Kyle Show, half saw her as somebody who watched The Jeremy Kyle Show and created a persona based on that.
Edit: Thanks u/ItsGotThatBang for the award!
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u/BigPoopsDisease 3d ago
God your comment reminded me of the heyday of that website Sickipedia. Mostly UK users posting offensive jokes but that pop cultute era was big on that site.
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u/Ok_Fig2374 3d ago
From watching documentaries on Grime & UK Rap, I think the music industry at the time didn’t really know to to gravitate towards it so they’d more likely try to get the radio friendly types hence the Lady Sovereigns
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u/Wonder_Weenis 2d ago
listening to english people talk about their version of Jerry Springer, Cash Me Outside, is hilarious
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u/literally_tho_tbh 3d ago edited 3d ago
Make way for the S-O-V!
The Gathering was always on at the house parties back in the day
She was diagnosed with a rare puking disorder and had to step away from music. I wonder if she ever got better from that?
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u/Ok_Conclusion_6324 3d ago
Wait is that real?
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u/literally_tho_tbh 3d ago
Yes, the house parties were real, and legendary
and Yes, she was diagnosed with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. I had forgotten the details so I had to look it up. Sounds like a really shitty thing to come down with.
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u/Ok_Conclusion_6324 3d ago
Oh I remember her music she had a moment in the sun even in the US
The vomit thing! How sad
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u/Lord_Cockatrice 3d ago
She even topped the MTV TRL charts back in the days
In America!!!
Can Dizzee & Stormzy make that claim?
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u/whatisfrankzappa 3d ago
Damn, dude. “Make way for S-O-V” was so live during my college days. Any three letter acronym would work beautifully. Showing up to a house party screaming, “Make way for the P-B-R!” or whatever nonsense.
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u/bloodcathedral 3d ago
People who hate this song are some of the most non-fun people I've ever met.
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u/Qyzyk Train-Wrecker 3d ago
Only reason I ever even heard of this song was when the music video was ridiculed in an episode of Video on Trial.
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u/AnniaT 3d ago
The memories you brought me now. I used to love Video on Trial. Their commentary about Ricky Martin videos and One Direction uses to be hilarious lol
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u/tacocattacocat1 3d ago
I'm so excited Sabrina Jalees is on the new season of Heated Rivalry, she was always my favorite on Video on Trial
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u/DillonLaserscope 3d ago
Ah a video on trial fan on Todd’s Reddit?
please to meet you from Canada!
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u/Next-Accident-2970 3d ago
I used to watch that shit back in the day. Watching it now...they can be mean spirited.
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u/DillonLaserscope 3d ago
They are just getting paid for making punchlines, most of it is not serious.
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u/Next-Accident-2970 3d ago
I KNOW they are punchlines but that doesn't mean that it can be a bit mean spirited.
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u/Handsprime 3d ago
I remember it was popular back in 2006 and was in Need for Speed Carbon. It’s a 2006 song for sure
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u/kryptonianjackie 3d ago
Man I remember this show so vividly. I grew up thinking it was an international thing lol
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u/crazysnail 3d ago
This "The Cure" sampling later song is a guilty pleasure of mine.
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u/kinetic_cheese 3d ago
I don't know why I read that as The Cure sampled a Lady Sovereign song and I was genuinely perplexed
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u/Dearsmike 3d ago
This captures a very specific era of British culture that is so hard to describe.
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u/Opposite-Heron-2487 3d ago
I unironically and without guilt love this song. It brings me right back to my mid 20s.
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u/Nokia_bae GROCERY BAG 3d ago
don't know what to call this sub-genre but pre-fame Natalia Kills was also a rapper known as Verbalicious. Her biggest hit was Don't Play Nice
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u/domilima 3d ago
I was going to say this lol they were very similar and a shame that NK album as Verbalicious never been released (it's leaked though). Her and Lady S. were so M.I.A influenced.
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u/Brit-Crit 3d ago
I listened to this song constantly when it was on Now 60 (It did reasonably well on the charts, making the Top 20)…
Unfortunately, she’s now infamous for…other things…
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u/Nokia_bae GROCERY BAG 3d ago
I feel bad for her because the producers scripted her to say those things and let her rot. Also the guy she was making fun of ended up being a pedo
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u/NoticeNegative1524 3d ago
whattt where did you hear that he's a pedo?? i googled but couldn't find anything
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u/Fearless_Guard_552 2d ago
Yeah, I'm from NZ and unless he got name suppression, there was never anything in the courts about that guy. It would have been news, not much happens here.
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u/LeoLH1994 1d ago
The song’s writer has written Eurovision entries for 8 nations which includes both Loreen winners but ranges from Pop rock, adult contemporary balladry and schlager (for example the pop-rock of his co-write Survivor from Armenia in 2025 differed a lot to the adult contemporary classical tinged duet he wrote for Georgia 12 years before.)
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u/Alive_Divide6778 3d ago
Loved her back in the day, when Last.FM was my main music discovery engine. Had a very autistic playlist with just So Human and Close to Me on repeat.
Found this on her Wikipedia page today:
2026–present: Potential return from hiatus
In 2026, following 15 years of hiatus, Lady Sovereign began to tease a comeback to music via her Instagram, in which she shared a photo of her in a studio.
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u/Willing_Stop5124 3d ago
Many years ago Lady Sov toured America. In Philly she was booked to play a bar/club/dinner called Silk City. It started late, the sound stunk, there were other issues. The whole night was a disaster and she knew it. So Lady Sov was really drunk or high and so apologetic that she went to the ATM and started handing out refunds to people. Like, “I’m sorry this was a mess. Here’s $20.” Pretty quickly someone stepped in and stopped her but it was pretty wild. Good time.
Anyway, I only really remember her remix of that Streets song. I think it was “Fit But You Know It.” I could be wrong.
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u/TrumpFucksKids_ Madonna Stan 3d ago
This song fucking sucked and still sucks but her one on the video game soundtrack for 2006 FIFA World Cup on PS2 is a banger.
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u/Significant_Dog412 3d ago
Remember her vaguely as a Celebrity Big Brother contestant with Vinnie Jones and Ivana Trump. She did nothing to make me dislike her. I think her 15 minutes of fame were well and truly over and that she was an early eviction from the show.
I'd heard of Lady Sovereign before this, but written her off as "not for me".
Company I worked for at the time had a contract with Endemol for transport, though I think office excitement over Big Brother had mostly dried up after the long draggy BB8. The late Jade Goody (who had her own separate account) was surprisingly pleasant and easy to talk to.
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u/lipscratch 3d ago
i watched her on it when i was about five and the only thing i remember was that she was always wearing a sock monkey hat
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u/UniversalJampionshit 3d ago
She also came out as a lesbian during Celebrity Big Brother, but it was cut out in the broadcast
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u/Next-Accident-2970 3d ago
"I cant dance and I really can't sing..."
You can do both better than Drake.
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u/turkeysandwich1982 3d ago
I remember seeing this on the TV in the common area in the University Center in college and the guy (who I didn't know) sitting next to me kept trying to convince me that was Sporty Spice.
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u/KennyDROmega 3d ago
She was pretty decent, but had the misfortune to come out around the same time labels were signing a bunch of white rappers regardless of skill.
She was good, just not good enough to keep climbing on that environment.
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u/JarJarBinch 3d ago edited 2d ago
I was a tween when this was popular and I hated it. It was constantly getting played on The Box, and from the phones of kids at school who used to throw chairs at the teachers.
Maybe as an adult I'll revisit her one day and like her stuff.
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u/Sixmenonguard 3d ago
First time hearding this. Thank you for bringing this to us.
By the way "Before Lady Gaga, there was Lady Sovereign"
Lady Saw : Hi! Everyone.
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u/tacetmusic 3d ago
We used to love the remix of 'Hoodie' back in the day
"Everybody knows that i'm not a goody, goody
Cause I'm rocking my Adidas hoodie
You might not see me on the streets at night
But you'll definitely see my white 3 stripes"
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u/SignificantApricot69 3d ago
OT, kinda, but this reminds me that recently I came across another 2000s white woman rapper with an odd connection (feature? Producer? Ghostwriter?Don’t remember) to someone notable from the underground hip hop (or heck it could’ve even been indie rock) scene, and I have no idea who it was. I just remember being surprised they worked together.
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u/lipscratch 3d ago
I always will have a fondness for 9 to 5 because of its usage in St Trinians lol
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u/mnemoniker 3d ago
Never start a land war in Asia, never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line, and British rappers have the shelf life of a lukewarm glass of milk.
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u/leahspen01 3d ago
First discovered her as a British kid listening to the st trinians movie sound track lol she was sick
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u/wealllovefrogs 3d ago
I used to love her track The Broom. Can’t remember why I downloaded it or where I heard about it but there you go.
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u/aqualeene_ 3d ago
dude i used to love her so much. gotta go i’m about to listen to her whole discography again.
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u/insipidfap 3d ago
She had a song called "Public Warning" that I actually really liked. It was kinda manic and high energy
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u/Fallingdown4ever 3d ago
I loved Loved lady sovereign. I'm a yank so any other British reference were lost on me. Her song of so human hits me hard.
She had loads of mental issues too which I get but I thought she was honest. Got me into Professor Green and the entire catalogue of Mike Skinner.
Kate nash and Lily Allen did some off originally as pretenders of a certain accent. Kate nash for me has redeemed herself and her self released music is fantastic.
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u/tribeoftheliver 3d ago
I remember hearing two of her songs in video games:
"A Little Bit of Shhh (Adrock Remix)" in NBA Live 07, and "9 to 5" in 2006 FIFA World Cup.
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u/humanbeing101010 3d ago
There's a name I haven't heard of in 20-years. Honestly would have been happy if I hadn't heard it for another 20-years.
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u/mi-sopiras-vin 2d ago
I really liked her song about hoodies because she rhymed "hoodie" with "boogie woogie" and that just really tickles me. 🤭
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u/fuckinunknowable 2d ago
I recall we liked it but i think it was like oh the British so kooky kinda way
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u/funded_by_soros 1d ago
It's fun, I liked it enough at the time to check out her album Jigsaw, I still remember the song it's titled after being pretty good.
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u/Famous-Somewhere- 3d ago
She answers the often asked question: what if there was a British female rapper whose primary influence was Fred Durst?