LADY WHO?

Rising British rap star Lady Sovereign, a.k.a. Londoner Louise Harman, first picked up a mic at 15, after losing interest in sports: “I’ve always been a tomboy, but I started spending more time writing.”

THE CLASS CLOWN

Sov writes funny, personal lyrics about being mouthy and short- she’s five-foot-one- over beats that sound like rubber-band snaps. In her bouncy hit “Ch Ching (Cheque 1-2),” she asserts, “I got 50 things to say in a cheeky kind of way!”

JAY-A LIKEY

A few songs circulated online- like “Random” and “9 to 5”- caught the ear of rap superstar Jay-A, and impressed him enough to sign her to his label, Def Jam. Listen to Beastie Boy Ad-Rock’s remix of “A Little Bit of Shhh” on Sov’s Vertically Challenged EP, out now, and catch Timbaland and Missy Elliot on her still-untitled full-length debut, which drops this spring.

NOT A SCREAMER

“[The success] is exciting, but I keep it in,” says Sov. “I don’t jump and scream.” She’s into more chill activities, like being online. “It’s embarrassing, man- I’m always on IM or Myspace. I sound geekish!”

TRACK STAR

Sov has made flashy tracksuits her fashion staple: “I wear them every day. My wardrobe is 95 percent Adidas.”