Despite speaking the same language and having love for the art almost as long as we have, British MCs have found it almost impossible to break into the true ranks of American hip-hop music. In fact, other than Slick Rick the Ruler, not a single other UK import has managed to find a permanent place in the canons of rap. Sure, artists like the Stereo MCs and Mark Morrison have made a slight dent with the occasional hit single, and artists like The Streets and Dizzee Rascal have captivated the hipster demo, but let's face it: they ain't rocking real deal hip-hop.

Consequently, a real stigma has evolved in relation to UK imports and the truth of the matter is: Ameri¬cans look down on British rap music. It seems, though, that we may be on the verge of a change, which comes in the most unlikely of fashions. You see, the approaching savior of UK hip-hop is a wee white girl from the suburbs, the 5' 1" tall phenom known as Lady Sovereign.

At first glance, you might be quick to dismiss this li'l miss as pure folly. With a look that's 19 going on 14, and an accent so thick you have to rewind sev¬eral times to figure out what she's saying, "rap star" is definitely not the first thing that comes to mind. But appearances be damned, Lady Sovereign is the truth.

First drawn toward the light of hip-hop by listening to pirate radio from her home in the Chalkhill Estates near Wembley, England, Sov, as she's called, re¬sponded to the anonymity of the MCs to whom she was first exposed. "I was listening to everything, all these MCs, and I had no idea who they were; they were just pirate radio MCs, and I thought, 'tuck it, let me have a go at it'." And go she did.

But Sov wasn't an overnight sensation by any means. In fact, her early rhymes, distributed mostly through the Internet, were largely written off as whack. But even though her first attempts at poppin' off weren't felt immediately, the experience affected her for the better, toughening her up and inspiring her to write battle raps, the primary example to date being her vicious attack of fellow Brit chick rapper, Jentina.

Poor Jentina was foolish enough to record a song called "Bad Ass Strippa,’" which Sov quickly flipped into the scathing "Sad Arse Strippa,’" breaking homegirl down with lyrics like, "You was born in a caravan / That don't make you ghetto / I seen more ghetto in Posh Spice's stiletto!" Jentina's career still hasn't recovered from Sov's gasface.

Now, as she percolates towards the top, her ability to throw darts in multi-cadenced flows have drawn serious comparisons to the other great white hope of hip-hop, Eminem - a fact she brashly refers to in the opening line of her banger, "Ch-Ching", when she says, "I'm the best thing since sliced bread / Nah Eminem / Feminine? / Nah / Ms. Sovereign / Yeah!"

But Sov is not at all overly confident. She's caused so much attention with her unique ability to ride beats from across genres and spit with flows that flip effortlessly from raga to grime to garage, that the reigning king of hip-hop, Jay-Z, invited the Lady for a tour of his kingdom. The meeting, which took place at Def Jam's offices in New York this fall, also included the requirement that Sov showcase for Jay. "I was quite nervous," she recalls, commenting that she felt a bit put on the spot. "I don't normally get nervous, but I got on with it." She continues, "It was a weird moment because I never thought that I would get invited by Jay-Z and that he would appre¬ciate my music like that." Lucky for her, he did and he does, and now future projects with Hov and Sov are firmly in the works. In fact, a DJ Green Lantern produced collabo may be the first in the pipe.

In addition to polying with her new friends across the pond and releasing her debut album in the UK, Sov is also spearheading a social movement called Save the Hoodie. "Over here, the hoodie is banned from lots of places," she explains. "It's fuckin' shit, it's just a piece of clothing and there's this cliche that it's worn by criminals and all that, but for that reason they won't allow people to wear them." She goes on animatedly, "So I started this website called Savethehoodie.com and there's a petition on there. This is a serious thing. I want people to sign the peti¬tion because I'm gonna' take it further because it's just so stupid."

As ludicrous as a world without hoodies may seem, it's a real issue to the hip-hop community in England, and Sov's dedication to this cause has earned her the respect of fans and peers alike. "Loads of people have already signed the petition," she says. As noble as that sounds, young Sov's also got to know that petition signers are also future record buyers, and for that you've got to give a girl credit.

Still, with all the buzz, all the connects, and all the grassroots activism in her favor, really establishing herself in the land where hip-hop was born is still go¬ing to be an uphill battle for Sov. Perhaps the fact that Lil’ Kim is in the pen, which has left a void in the 4'11" to 5'2" female MC height class will serve as an advantage for this up and coming artist. But in all seriousness, Lady Sovereign's charisma and ability to flow are unquestionable. With the right amount of luck, we may find that we are finally on the dawn of American hip-hop's first real British invasion.