"'Hoodie' marks an attempt by Lady Sovereign to save the hoodie from the current wave of Middle England's alarmist tactics" states the press release. Couple this with the hype I've heard over the track and I'm anticipating something special as the laser on my computer crunches into life.
Of course I've overlooked a golden fact; anyone who has collaborated with The Ordinary Boys has as much artistic merit as the Diet Coke advertising team, and true enough this single is a stunning let down.
A large problem is that, at least on my promotional copy, the CD features two remixes with no sign of the original track, so it's hard to judge the actual song. But by comparing the two it seems the track runs on a knowingly average melody and surprisingly weak beat. Hugely disappointing compared to Lady S's earlier material.
But even the idle, uninspiring beats are made to look promising when compared to the lyrics. Unless rhyming 'hoodie' with 'boogie woogie' subliminaly covers the "greater social issues at heart" noted in the press release, then a lot of hype has been misplaced.
Lady Sovereign has done more to strengthen the stereotype related to hoodies then relinquish its grip on the public. Not that this lessens the quality of the track; only a ska breakdown could do that.
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3Jordan Dowling's Score