Random (Lady Sovereign song)

Last updated

"Random"
RandomLS.jpg
Single by Lady Sovereign
from the album Vertically Challenged and Public Warning
Released14 March 2005
Recorded2004
Genre
Length3:30
Label Casual
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Menta
Lady Sovereign singles chronology
"Random"
(2005)		"9 to 5"
(2005)

"Random" is the first CD single from UK hip hop artist Lady Sovereign, following the release of her 12" promotional vinyl single "Ch Ching (Cheque 1 2)" in 2004. It was her second and last single for Casual Records in 2005. [1] The electronic music, hip hop, and rap song was later included in her 2006 Def Jam debut LP, "Public Warning". [2]

Contents

Composition

The first rapped line in the song references the hit song "Tipsy" by J-Kwon. Part of her random list of references is to getting drunk on alcohol: "E'rybody in the club getting tipsy/ Oh, fuck that, just wine like a gypsy." [1]

The title and lyrics are about "random" things, which The Awl described as the most hated word of the Millenial generation. [3]

Charts

The single was Lady Sovereign's first to make the UK top 75, peaking at No. 73 there, [1] and spending one week within the top 75. It was also "#8 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Singles of 2005." [1]

Performances

At the 2006 South by Southwest, it was her opening song, and due to technical difficulties, one of the few she could sing at that music festival, a review describing Lady Sovereign by the British working class pejorative, chav . [4]

By Lady Sovereign's 2009 concert at the beach resort of Brighton, the song was described as an "old fave", or part of her standard repertoire, and was in the middle of her set list. [5]

Reviews and legacy

After the single release, she was signed by Def Jam Recordings and this single is considered to be her breakthrough into the mainstream market. [2] [1] Pitchfork called it "the best the best rap track" of 2005. [6]

"Random" was featured on an episode of The O.C. aired on April 27, 2006, playing in the background during the senior prom in Season 3, Episode 23 - "The Party Favor", [1] [7] and was featured as a track on Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix .[ citation needed ] A remix of this song was played on the "Jamalot" episode of CSI: NY .[ citation needed ]

Track listings

The Remixes - 12" promo single

12" single

CD single

  1. "Random" (original radio edit) - 3:39
  2. "Random" (Menta remix feat. Riko) - 4:57
  3. "Random" (A. Brucker & Sinden remix) - 3:50
  4. Video #1
  5. Video #2

Digital EP

  1. "Random" (Menta remix) - 5:01
  2. "Random" - 3:46
  3. "Random" (A. Brucker & Sinden vocal mix) - 3:49

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "One List Wonders: Lady Sovereign: "Random" [__Casual; 2005]". Pitchfork.com. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 Dombal, Ryan (1 November 2006). "Public Warning!: Lady Sovereign, 2006: Roughly two-and-a-half-years after first making a big internet splash, the now Def Jam-signed, TRL-conquering Brit MC unleashes her debut album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 June 2025. Sure, "Random" still sounds great, it's blippy quipping coming off futuristic well after the grime bubble that birthed it burst.
  3. ↑ Hiebert, Paul (3 March 2011). "Our Obsession with the Word "Random": Fear of a Millennial Planet". The Awl. Retrieved 1 June 2025. This particular use of the word random has penetrated pop-culture so recklessly and so thoroughly that examples can be found in English-speaking markets all across the globe. They include ... [the] Chorus line from British grime artist Lady Sovereign's single "Random": "Everybody get random/ Jus' do sumfin random."
  4. ↑ Davis, Johnny (14 April 2006). "Lady Sovereign: The country's fourth biggest chav: In the US, Lady Sovereign is billed as the next Eminem, and has signed to Jay-Z's record label. Back home in the UK, she's been crowned the country's fourth biggest chav. Johnny Davis joins her on both sides of the Atlantic to hear about her past, present and wildly promising future". The Independent. Retrieved 1 June 2025. Two verses into the first song, "Random", the sound cuts out. Sovereign, who describes her act as "half MC-ing, half improvised stand-up", is left to wing it.
  5. ↑ Pia, Camilla (18 June 2009). "Live Review: Lady Sovereign: Concorde 2, Brighton, Saturday, June 6". NME. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  6. ↑ Sylvester, Nick (14 March 2005). "Lady Sovereign". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  7. ↑ Starkey, Adam (23 October 2023). "'The O.C.' music: here's every song on the soundtrack: Including tracks by The Killers and Phoenix". NME.com. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
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