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Public Warning
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 34 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 25 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Def Jam
Release Date: 31 October 2006
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rap
Summary
The South London grime artist becomes Def Jam's very first female MC with the release of this solo debut LP.
Also By This Artist: Jigsaw
Also On The Web: LS @ MySpace Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Observer Music Monthly
From production to persona, rhymes to flow, Public Warning is almost flawless.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
Even if Sov doesn't cross over the way she or Def Jam might want her to, she still sounds like an original--even for people who know half the songs already.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
An exciting introduction to an extraordinary artist captured at just the right time.
Read Full Review >musicOMH.com
If a classic pop album is something that defines the moment, is rammed with ideas and necessarily crammed with singles, then Lady Sov's cracked it first time out.
Read Full Review >Drowned In Sound
With solid production throughout, there’s little to slight Public Warning besides Sov’s hang-up with her diminutive physical stature.
Read Full Review >Hot Press
The lyrics here are a lacerating mix of blue collar bile and blue language, little Lady Muck simultaneously waging class and crass warfare.
Read Full Review >Urb
Though it's a letdown to revisit [the five EP cuts] in place of new material, "Those Were the Days," "My England" and "Love Me or Hate Me" make up for it largely. [Oct 2006, p.115]
Billboard
Fully realized and largely insane. [4 Nov 2006]
Hartford Courant
A full-length debut strong on deft, cheeky wordplay and blessedly free of the usual hip-hop clichés burdening her American counterparts.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times
Though Sov hates the comparison, "Public Warning" does recall Eminem's early work. It's uproariously funny, for one thing, with a cutting anger lurking just behind the jokes.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Lady Sov's street cred, raw talent, and gumption can't mask Public Warning's faults--like overly frenetic beats and a handful of choruses that rely on tuneless yelling instead of a good refrain.
Read Full Review >Paste Magazine
Sov doesn't sound quite as explosive here as she did on her legendary demo tracks, but there's no containing her charisma. [Oct 2006, p.75]
Rolling Stone
Despite some uneven striving-for-maturity moments... Sov's at her best when she doesn't take herself too seriously.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
On Public Warning, Lady Sovereign explores the natural edges of her characteristic sound and emerges a more fully-realised artist.
Read Full Review >Vibe
A gleeful, idiosyncratic pastiche. [Nov 2006, p.156]
Slant Magazine
The slick, flashy façade that renders tracks like the predictable "Love Me Or Hate Me" and the bland title cut seemingly hollow detracts from the obvious skill of the self-proclaimed "biggest midget in the game," making Public Warning less of an instant classic and more of a promise of things to come.
Read Full Review >NOW Magazine
She catchily sends up herself, her Britishness and the unlikelihood of her (likely) stardom.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
A vital trans-Atlantic concern, the point where Dizzee meets Jay-Z. [3 Feb 2007, p.33]
Lost At Sea
There isn’t much that Lady Sovereign did prior to Public Warning to gain the amount of respect that she attempts to command and, to some extent, she still doesn’t make it all up here. But at least this is a good start to showcase her abilities.
Read Full Review >Spin
The toughest cuts are still the early singles. But shorty's in the process of becoming something bigger than a hot, patois-spitting grime MC. [Nov 2006, p.101]
RapReviews.com
At times Sovereign exceeds at being entertaining and at other times her simplistic lyrics, heavy accent and electronic beats prove to be too much to grasp.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
For every moment that Sov's supreme wit and impeccable cadence is fitfully showcased on Public Warning!, there is a moment when her gifts are squandered amidst anxious beats that try to compete with her huge personality.
Read Full Review >Prefix Magazine
Even if Sov doesn't live up to the hype, there is enough quality material on Public Warning to warrant more music from the self-proclaimed "biggest midget in the game."
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
A cheap production slightly undermines, but the world is hers. [Mar 2007, p.111]
Playlouder
'Public Warning' is a good record. It's just unfortunate that (no doubt at the behest of the major label moneymen) Sov's Stateside commitments have led to it emerging here rather bloated, feebly, and late.
Read Full Review >Uncut
The contrived newer stuff suggests she should stop trying to impress US hip hop royalty. [Mar 2007, p.91]
Dot Music
She undoubtedly has a great record or two in her. This, sadly, isn't one of them.
Read Full Review >Blender
Her subject matter is goofier, her flow is dumbed down and her beats are staler.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
Every song seems like it all went through a grime factory conveyor belt, and at the expense of being cohesive, Public Warning grows a bit repetitive.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
It's all very funny and cheeky, but after a full album's worth it grows cloying, like a good Saturday Night Live skit that's two minutes too long.
Read Full Review >Mojo
The joke's pretty much over after one listen. [Feb 2007, p.106]
The Guardian
Public Warning is the sound of a fantastic artist seemingly intent on compromising all her strengths.
Read Full Review >Filter
A thin and innocuous stretch of yawners. [#22, p.97]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 5.9 (out of 10) based on 25 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Marcel B gave it an8:
Lady Sovereign is the most courageous singer I seen in a long time. The album is one of the bests in the style I ever hear. Loved her!
Simon B gave it a5:
I found her promising, but after getting her album. The result was a blatant "meh". She's good and funny but her songs sound like Eminem material. Even if she claims she isn't to be compared to him, she plays the exact same role he does except more rashly and more teenagery. I know she's 24 or something but she really acts like a teenager. Probably uses this for her image or from her image. Her lyrical prestations are okay. Nothing grand. I don't think she should've aimed for a world-wide market. Probably just stayed in England. Not everybody's ready for an artist that is already hated as she comes on. I find her album's okay and at times just pointlessly bad. So a five is what it deserves. I know she said Jay-Z auditioned her and she passed, but Jay-Z's about as good as they come... And that's not saying much. So I don't know. I think she's a one-hit wonder and her album shows this. She already sonuds like she's half-way through her carreer and is looking for her identity. Buy it if you want, but you'll be dissapointed.
ash s gave it a0:
i genuinely believe she should be shot for the utter travesty which is her and her (for want of a better word) music.
Zach B gave it a10:
A sight of thing to come from this great talent.
joanna n gave it a0:
horrible! i couldnt even listen to this
Chris gave it a0:
After the hype, I found the CD to be incredibly monotonous. One song, OK, but the cutting remarks and the repetetive beats just got annoying.
freak frak gave it a0:
her noise is so incredibly annoying, you would have to pay me to actually buy her cd! her annoying facial expressions don't help either! Go home to Croydon, you piece of trash!
