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UK CORNER: Meet Bashy
His entrepreneurial spirit led him to release two mix tapes, Ur Mum volume One and Chupa Chups Mixtape Assorted Flavours.
Bashy started writing lyrics in school and he performed on the local circuit.
Eventually he hooked up with Major Ace a member of the Pay as You Go – an established grime act, and this led to appearances on pirate radio alongside the likes of Kano, Dizzie Rascal, Wiley and the More Fire Crew.
Bashy stands out from the mass of emerging MCs for example he was picked to recite a poem at a Tribute to Martin Luther King at the South Bank in London in April 2008 in front of Martin Luther King III.
He is an actor who had the lead role in the play Mind Blowing Decisions at the Hackney Empire and has a charisma that will stand him in good stead.
He is probably best known for the single Black Boys, which talks about the black role models who counter the negative stereotypes that the media offers.
The video for the single featured many notable figures from the underground music scene. It also gave rise to a Black Girls remix from Tor.
Most recently Bashy became music supervisor of the hit British film Adulthood, the follow up to 2006’s Kidulthood, written, starring and directed by Noel Clarke. The pair met after Noel picked up the Chupa Chups mixtape and was surprised to hear that the tracks sampled quotes from this film Kidulthood. Luckily for Bashy he avoided being sued as Noel liked the track and offered him the chance to submit a track for the sequel.
Bashy jumped at the chance and his track Kidulthood to Adulthood became the lead track on the soundtrack.
In the current era of knife and gun crime in the UK, it’s a dark but timely track discussing race, violence and abortion and raises questions about how adults act and breaking cycles. It proves Bashy is more than a one hit wonder. The video for the single, featuring the stars from the movie along with special guests, is online. Having just finished supporting Lethal B on tour and performing in Mali Bashy is looking forward to the release of his debut album Catch Me If You Can. I caught up with him at his home in North West London.
Who is Bashy?
Bashy is a street commentator with the world ahead of him. I started out penning lyrics at school in the playground, when I was not playing football. It was more of a hobby at first I never thought I’d be in a position where I am now – a lot of people would know me and like my music and stuff. I made mix tapes at friends house then eventually I found a pirate station and it took off from there.
The single most people know is Black Boys, how did you go from the concept to the single?
I’m not signed to a major record label so if you want to do music and people to buy it you have to go the independent route just really doing it for yourself having the infrastructure to do so. I wrote the track in 2006 I sat on it not knowing what to do with it at the time because I didn’t have the right management/team around me. In 2007 I started to get street heat with the Chuppa Chups mix tape and I put a snippet of Black Boys on it and it got some attention and people wanted to know rest of track. Naughty Boy and friends said do a video we shot one, Naughty Boy paid for it. The video looks so clear and good we were blessed, it was super sunny so we didn’t have to pay for lighting. My friend works for a video company he said he would do it so we were subsidised on the price because it was Jamie Cox’s first video, he’s a Director at Bikini media. I met Desmond George Ms Dynamite’s former manager and he was feeling the track. George Ebeneezer, a distributor, was feeling it. We all came together and said let’s put it out as a proper project, spend some time, focus get it in the right places, play it for the right people and it kind of took off. The response was incredible and I’m grateful for the support because I didn’t expect it so many people to like the track and understand where I was coming from, I’m proud of that.
Sometimes loads of producers give me instrumentals to write to and that was one of the tracks and those thoughts came to my head when I heard that instrumental.
It sounds like you concentrate on writing and performing and knew people in press and promotion and producing, distributing.
Yes, that’s the whole point of having a distributor because they can do these things. Economically they have the best resources. It’s hard to do it yourself and you end up paying more because they already have established relationships with pressing plants and retailers. It makes the process easier. The producer is part of my team, I have to pay them when the sales come, and after PAs he recoups money before anyone else.
There were rumours that OFCOM – the broadcasting regulator had an issue with the video for Black Boys…
OFCOM received a complaint and had to investigate that was it. I had to submit the lyrics, the video and track. Then they made a decision listened and monitored to see the response.
What was the outcome?
It didn’t get banned because MTV, Channel U, BBC radio, Choice FM all those stations supported it.
Have you heard Tor’s Black Girls what think about that?
Yeah I think it’s beautiful, I wish they did it earlier then they could have received the full kind of exposure of it but Black Boys for me is an eternal tune that will last forever. I think every year new people should stake their claim and do a Black Boys and Tor’s one is wicked she did it exactly how I would have done it.
Do you see yourself as a role model in the community?
It’s mad I don’t kind of see myself as a role model really I’m just doing what I do. And if anyone wants to look to that and kind of follow the same path as me then I’m happy for that to happen, but for me to go out and say yeah I’m a role model, no I’m not on that. I didn’t come into music to do that I came to be a musician, and a writer, and an actor, and a street commentator. Not a role model
You acted in a play at Hackney Empire is that correct?
Yeah one at Hackney Empire and one at Sadlers Wells
What was the production at Sadlers Wells and when?
Marcus the Faddist in March 2008.
In the song you name people you admire and your dad, what in particular inspired you?
He’s a hard worker, a grafter.
What does he do?
He’s an electric engineer. He never let me go without.
Do you come from a big family?
Like immediate family? Mum, Dad, Sister – not really
Just four of you?
Kind of yeah.
I saw you at the Martin Luther King tribute. How did it feel to take part?
Wow for me that was an overwhelming experience really to think I’ve grown up seeing Martin Luther King on TV documentaries, reading about him in books magazines newspapers. It’s really Black Boys, all my work from before that got me there and put me on the map. For me to perform in front of Martin Luther King Jnr’s son, that’s just a memory I’ll have forever. I’ll never ever forget that and he signed my book for the poem I read out for his father. For me it was just like history right there in front of my face it was crazy. I never get nervous or rarely but on that day for some reason I was slightly nervous I don’t know why must have just been the whole atmosphere…. Yeah usually I’m not nervous but that day my heart was just pounding in my chest before and after.
Your poem was really good and your performance was really good.
Thank you
I expected you to do Black Boys but what you did was nice.
To me that would have been the easy way out. I could have came on stage did Black Boys and said yeah ‘Big up Martin Luther King Jnr’ but that’s not really putting any effort and years down the line I could be, what ever, a very successful artist, but I’d be thinking wow I had a opportunity to do something special and I was just lazy. So I thought no, even though my schedule was mad tight, I stayed up all night with no sleep and penned the poem and tried to learn it all, well have it in a decent way so I could do it the next day. I could have done Black Boys but I didn’t want to.
Was any of your family in the audience?
No my mum was bursting to come but she couldn’t get the time off work; she wanted to come so badly.
And are your family very proud of you?
I think so really, when I come home I’m just Ashley at home it’s not like wow you’re some big star on the telly or in the magazine. Even though it’s kind of hard because they might just be reading the paper and they see my big face it’s weird for them. But they see it as their happy I’m doing something positive and that I’m happy.
If you weren’t doing music, what would you be doing?
That’s a difficult one for me because before I was doing music I was a bus driver in North West London but that wasn’t something I wanted to do. I just had to get money and survive but I always wanted to be an actor so I’d probably be trying my hand at that. And also a pilot. I would have probably ended up joining the RAF or something to be honest.
How did you get into theatre?
I used to go to the Brits School so I’ve always done theatre. I did theatre before I did music really it just a progression from there now. I’m getting quite a bit of exposure I’m using that to steer towards my acting, which is what I want to do as well.
What type of roles?
Anything I’ll play any role.
Who are some of the actors you admire?
I definitely admire Robert De Niro, obviously Denzel Washington because he’s just hard I mean like Malcolm X, and Delroy Linden,
Internationally, what plans do you have?
Really I’d love to be able to go to America but I feel I need to get my foundation here. I think too many times people have tried that they go to America and come back and there’s no fan base. But a prime example of someone who has done well is Estelle she went over there, came back, and has got it on smash right now.
Black Boys collectors pack is out now. Kidulthood to Adulthood is available on download and the Adulthood soundtrack is out now.
www.myspace.com/bashystar - www.myspace.com/adulthoodthemovie
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