Lady Sovereign Opens Up About Def Jam Departure

The Guardian spoke with Lady Sovereign about her split from Def Jam and the pressure she felt after her debut album ‘Public Warning’ only sold 300,000 copies in the U.S.

“I went on strike and stopped doing stuff, so Def Jam got the hump [stop putting up] with me,” the 23-year-old explained, “I lost the plot a few times. I was cutting myself and stupid things like that. I was tired. I felt like it was just push, push, push. I didn’t have a chance to record any new stuff, it was the same old songs.”

The decision to leave the label came from both Def Jam and Sovereign, who said that “It just had to be done, for their sake, for my sake. It wasn’t messy, it was just … gone.”