Eighteen months ago 23 year old Ashley Thomas was just the cute bus driver that charmed the female passengers with his head turning charisma - and then ‘Black Boys’ the anthemic celebratory track paying homage to the achievements of some of Britain’s most successful young black men dropped, the You tube hits exceeded 1 million, and overnight a star was born and the bus driver laid his uniform to rest.
But it wasn’t just the music that got the nation talking, as in Bashy we have discovered a 360 degree artist whose portrayal of Anthony in the classic ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’ following his BRIT Performing Arts school education was met with critical acclaim, and a personality which exudes star quality. As Simon Cowell would say, Bashy has “likeability.”
It was Bashy’s special something that caught the attention of Damon Albarn, and took him from checking Oyster cards, to Nigeria where he teamed up with the super talent that is Albarn to contribute to the star’s ‘Africa Express’ album.
The last few months have seen Bashy receive rapturous applause for his Electric proms performance, grace No.10 Downing street for meetings with the Prime Minister as an Ambassador for the ‘No to knives’ campaign, write the soundtrack to the award winning Noel Clarke film ‘Adulthood,’ which grossed millions at the box office, and receive a 2008 MOBO nomination. Every element of his delivery from the lyrical dexterity to the video production, is sharp, with none of the raw presentation synonomous with the Grime/hip hop scene. In Bashy we have an artist who has captivated the underground and is crossing over with the ease that Will Smith demonstrated in the years before he was Hollywood’s highest paid male actor.
It all began with Bashy began honing his craft in the playground of his local Kensal Rise comprehensive, where at the age of 14, the confident youngster lyrically battled the older kids in the school who in his own words he ‘destroyed’. Having been raised in Ladbroke Grove, the playground for some of London’s most creative talents, Bashy soon got his peers talking and the word spread beyond the gates of the playground and into his local community. He soon found himself in demand at local clubs and parties where he earned yet more respect MC battling other popular lyricists of the time.
“I’m a street, social, commentator I talk about LIFE, I talk about what’s going on things that people can relate to, ‘How to Pick a Wifey’, ‘Black Boys’, ‘4 o’clock in the morning’, Death Is Just a Page Away’, ‘if You Met God What Would You Ask Him’…”All delivered with a clarity, confidence and infectious word play that ruthlessly commands the unsuspecting listeners attention.
In October Bashy will kick off the UK tour as the leading role in ‘Marcus The Sadist,’ a Jonzi D production which will see him grace venues such as London’s Bloomsbury Theatre, once again illustrating his uncategorisable talent.
All this and the highly anticipated debut album ‘Catch me if you Can’ is yet to be released. The clichéd statement ‘One to watch’ is often trotted out in the biographies of fledgling artists, but with Bashy, a young man with the potential to become one of our most successful exports, never has a term been more apt.
Catch Me If You Can In Stores and Online 1st June 2009
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Inspired by GOD and The Wisdom which men lack. Inspired by ART serving it and making changes for its sake, never exploiting it for personal gain or wealth. Art is to be treasured as a jewel. The expression of a mans heart reveals himself and his work reflects his life. Every man must give an account for his own life, and the gift he has. Use it to the best of your ability and let your light shine before men, so that they will glorify your Father in heaven. Keep the Sword Of the Lord Raw.
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