Bashy
Encyclopedia
Ashley Thomas better known by his stage name
Bashy, is an English recording artist and actor. He rose to prominence in 2007 after the release of his controversial track "Black Boys".
, West London
. He attended St Mary’s of the Angels RC Primary School. At age eleven, his family moved to Kensal Rise, northwest London
and he attended the Cardinal Hinsley School.
He also attended the BRIT School for performing Arts where he was a theatre student. The school boasts former students such as Amy Winehouse
, Leona Lewis
, Kate Nash
& Jessie J
.
to become a postman. He worked there for a year to save money then left to pursue his music career full time. The money he saved was soon spent, as his music career did not take off as planned, it was during this period that he decided to become a bus driver. He drove the 114, 183 and 292 buses. He has been very vocal about time as a bus driver, in order to promote the idea that working is cool to young people.
With frequent reports of shootings and stabbings on news bulletins, and with the media continually focusing on the lack of role models in certain communities, he felt that the nation’s inner city youth needed a reminder that they had a number of positive role models they could look to for inspiration. His début single provoked controversy, as some people called the track racist. This prompted the governing body Ofcom
to investigate. Rumours soon began to circulate that the track had been banned from TV. Certain sections of the black community were outraged; groups were set up on the social networking site Facebook
in order to fight the ban. Racist videos were put up as responses to the track on YouTube
, in which men dressed as Ku Klux Klan
members would hurl abuse at black people, with "Black Boys" playing in the background. This prompted people of many races to get behind and support Bashy, in a united stand against racism. It was as a result of this publicity and grass roots action that Bashy was invited to perform at the Love Music Hate Racism Rally in 2008 at Victoria Park
, to a crowd of 100,000. He was asked to take the main stage alongside Damon Albarn
. Bashy persuaded various British artists to share their views on the subject. Nolay, Skinnyman
, Ty, Big Narstie, Tinie Tempah
, Wretch 32
, Chipmunk
, Swiss, Durrty Goodz, J2k, Skepta
, Sincere, Akala
and Scorcher
featured on the track.
, director and star of the Adulthood film first encountered Bashy when he was passed a copy of his earlier mixtapes which contained samples from his previous Kidulthood
film. Clarke was so impressed by what he heard, that his thoughts soon drifted from copyright protection to thinking how to get Thomas involved in the follow-up. He soon asked Thomas to submit a track to be included on the soundtrack, and he delivered "Kidulthood to Adulthood". Bashy’s belief in helping others in order to build a scene was demonstrated by the fact that he did not just submit his own tracks, but delved into the scene and gathering music from other artists for Clarke to listen to. Clarke asked Thomas to act as assistant music supervisor for the entire project.
In April 2011 BBC Learning launched Off By Heart Shakespeare, a recital contest for secondary school pupils. For the project Bashy took on the role of Shylock from ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and delivered one of the character’s most memorable speeches; “T o bait Fish withal”.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Bashy, is an English recording artist and actor. He rose to prominence in 2007 after the release of his controversial track "Black Boys".
Early life
Thomas was born in ChiswickChiswick
Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...
, West London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He attended St Mary’s of the Angels RC Primary School. At age eleven, his family moved to Kensal Rise, northwest London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and he attended the Cardinal Hinsley School.
He also attended the BRIT School for performing Arts where he was a theatre student. The school boasts former students such as Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
, Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
, Kate Nash
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. She had a UK no. 2 hit "Foundations" in 2007, followed by the platinum selling UK number 1 album Made of Bricks. She was named Best Female Artist at the 2008 BRIT Awards....
& Jessie J
Jessie J
Jessica Ellen Cornish , better known by her stage name Jessie J, is an English recording artist currently signed to Island Records. She began her career as a songwriter for artists including Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus. Her debut single, "Do It Like a Dude", was released in November 2010 and peaked...
.
The Chupa Chups mixtape
He recorded The Chupa Chups Mixtape to keep his name relevant. The mixtape is critically acclaimed, and over 5000 copies sold within the first few months. In order to market the mixtapes in an innovative way, he attached Chupa Chups lollies to them so they would stand out in the rapidly growing mixtape market.Working life
During the release of the Chupa Chups Mixtape he was still a struggling independent musician, so applied to the Royal MailRoyal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
to become a postman. He worked there for a year to save money then left to pursue his music career full time. The money he saved was soon spent, as his music career did not take off as planned, it was during this period that he decided to become a bus driver. He drove the 114, 183 and 292 buses. He has been very vocal about time as a bus driver, in order to promote the idea that working is cool to young people.
"Black Boys"
In 2007 he released the song "Black Boys". It was this track that propelled Thomas into the nation's consciousness, catching the imagination of a country suffering from many incidents of violence amongst its inner-city youth.With frequent reports of shootings and stabbings on news bulletins, and with the media continually focusing on the lack of role models in certain communities, he felt that the nation’s inner city youth needed a reminder that they had a number of positive role models they could look to for inspiration. His début single provoked controversy, as some people called the track racist. This prompted the governing body Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
to investigate. Rumours soon began to circulate that the track had been banned from TV. Certain sections of the black community were outraged; groups were set up on the social networking site Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
in order to fight the ban. Racist videos were put up as responses to the track on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, in which men dressed as Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
members would hurl abuse at black people, with "Black Boys" playing in the background. This prompted people of many races to get behind and support Bashy, in a united stand against racism. It was as a result of this publicity and grass roots action that Bashy was invited to perform at the Love Music Hate Racism Rally in 2008 at Victoria Park
Victoria Park, East London
Victoria Park is 86.18 hectares of open space that stretches out across part of the East End of London, England bordering parts of Bethnal Green, Hackney, and Bow, such as along Old Ford Road, London E3 and Victoria Park Road E9. The park is entirely within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets...
, to a crowd of 100,000. He was asked to take the main stage alongside Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
. Bashy persuaded various British artists to share their views on the subject. Nolay, Skinnyman
Skinnyman
Skinnyman is an English rapper who was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and moved to Finsbury Park, London at a young age. He grew up on the Six Acres Estate next to Andover Estate...
, Ty, Big Narstie, Tinie Tempah
Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu , better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He made his first mixtape in 2007 with 28 songs, freestyles and remixes, the album features Mz Bratt, Chipmunk and G-Unit...
, Wretch 32
Wretch 32
Jermaine Scott , better known by his stage name Wretch 32 , is a Black British rapper and former Grime MC from Tottenham, London where he grew up the son of a local reggae DJ in the Tiverton Estate. He was a member of the grime collective "Combination Chain Gang", before forming The Movement with...
, Chipmunk
Chipmunk (rapper)
Jahmaal Noel Fyffe known by his stage name Chipmunk, is a British hip hop rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London....
, Swiss, Durrty Goodz, J2k, Skepta
Skepta
Joseph Junior Adenuga , better known as Skepta, is an English rapper from London. Originally from and born to Nigerian parents he moved to London aged three....
, Sincere, Akala
Akala (rapper)
Akala is an English rap and hip hop artist from Kentish Town, Camden, London. He is the younger brother of the singer Ms...
and Scorcher
Scorcher (rapper)
Scorcher is a rapper and producer from North London.-Biography:Scorcher is a grime MC and producer from Enfield, North London. He began his career in Cold Blooded where he became known for his 'shank' bars, and would regularly attend pirate radio and work his way up through the North London grime...
featured on the track.
Adulthood
Thomas soon found himself at the heart of another successful project – Adulthood. Noel ClarkeNoel Clarke
Noel Anthony Clarke is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He is best known for playing Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Mickey Smith in Doctor Who...
, director and star of the Adulthood film first encountered Bashy when he was passed a copy of his earlier mixtapes which contained samples from his previous Kidulthood
Kidulthood
Kidulthood is a 2006 British drama film about the life of several teenagers in Ladbroke Grove and Latimer Road area of inner west London. It was directed by Menhaj Huda and written by Noel Clarke, who also stars in the film and directed the sequel, Adulthood...
film. Clarke was so impressed by what he heard, that his thoughts soon drifted from copyright protection to thinking how to get Thomas involved in the follow-up. He soon asked Thomas to submit a track to be included on the soundtrack, and he delivered "Kidulthood to Adulthood". Bashy’s belief in helping others in order to build a scene was demonstrated by the fact that he did not just submit his own tracks, but delved into the scene and gathering music from other artists for Clarke to listen to. Clarke asked Thomas to act as assistant music supervisor for the entire project.
Catch Me If You Can
Thomas released his debut album, Catch Me If You Can, on 1 June 2009. Hiphop.com rated the album 'good' and wrote, "Catch Me If You Can is a debut album that perfectly encapsulates how hip hop has become the world's local music. With vocal accents, lyrical references, swagger and varied production styles that will take a minute for the non-Brit to get their head around, much of this likeable and well-intentioned set still deserves wider attention."Acting career
Thomas is represented by Independent Talent. In 2010 he played Rager in British flick, Shank. He then went on to star as Smoothy in Noel Clarke's 4321.In April 2011 BBC Learning launched Off By Heart Shakespeare, a recital contest for secondary school pupils. For the project Bashy took on the role of Shylock from ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and delivered one of the character’s most memorable speeches; “T o bait Fish withal”.
The Great Escape EP
The Great Escape EP announced via Bashy's Twitter is a collaborations project recorded in-between film shoots, this will be released in summer 2012 before Thomas' highly anticipated second album (T.B.C) is released.Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| 2009 | Catch Me If You Can
|
85 |
Mixtapes/EP's
- 2004: Ur Mum Vol One
- 2006: The Chupa Chups Mixtape
- 2008: Bashy.com
- 2010: The Fantasy Mixtape
- 2011: The Crunchie Mixtape
- 2012: The Great Escape EP
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|||
| 2008 | "Black Boys" | - | Catch Me If You Can |
| "Kidulthood to Adulthood" | 86 | ||
| 2009 | "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (featuring Toddla T Toddla T Toddla T is the stage name of Thomas Mackenzie Bell – a DJ, record producer, re-mixer and composer from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.- Biography :Toddla T, born 22 February 1985, was raised in Sheffield where he attended King Edward VII School... ) |
- | |
| "Your Wish Is My Command" (featuring H-Boogie) | - | ||
| "When the Sky Falls" (featuring Loick Essien Loick Essien Loick Mark Essien is an English singer signed to record label Sony Music. Essien began his musical career after featuring on rapper Chipmunk's single "Beast". He is due to release his debut album, Identity on 5 March 2012.... ) |
114 | ||
| 2010 | "Fantasy Fantasy (Bashy song) "Fantasy" is a dance-pop song by British rapper Bashy, featuring vocals from Indian singer and actress, Preeya Kalidas. The song was released as a single on July 26, 2010 via digital download, as the lead single from Bashy's upcoming second studio album, The Great Escape. The single will also be... " (featuring Preeya Kalidas Preeya Kalidas Preeya Kalidas is a British singer and actress of Indian descent. She plays Amira Masood in the soap opera EastEnders. She returned to a career in singing, with her single "Shimmy" being released in July 2010 taken from her debut album Constant Craving, was supposed to be released in September... ) |
88 | |
| "Make My Day" (vs. NAPT NAPT (electronic music artist) NAPT are a multi award winning British electronic dance music production and DJ duo consisting of Ashley Pope and Tomek Naden. NAPT's productions fall under the umbrella of their self coined N-Funk sound.... ) |
118 |
Guest appearances
- Clones - When We Were Young - 2006 (By Akira the DonAkira the DonAkira The Don is an independent British musician. Born in West Bromwich and raised in North Wales, in recent years he has lived in Hackney, East London....
) - Time Is Right Remix - 2009 (By Frisco Also Ft. JME & Black the Ripper)
- She Likes To (England Top 10) - 2009 (By WileyWiley (rapper)Richard Kylea Cowie , better known by his stage name Wiley is a prolific British music producer, MC and recording artist, and rapper with roots from Trinidad...
) - White Flag - Plastic BeachPlastic BeachPlastic Beach is the third studio album by British virtual band and alternative hip hop supergroup Gorillaz, released 3 March 2010 on Parlophone and Virgin Records. Conceived from an unfinished Gorillaz project called Carousel, the album was recorded during June 2008 to November 2009 and produced...
- 2010 (By GorillazGorillazGorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
Also Ft. KanoKano (rapper)Kane Brett Robinson , better known as Kano and also known as Kane O, is an English rapper and actor. His grandparents came to England as immigrants from Jamaica. He was formerly a key member of east London’s N.A.S.T.Y...
) - Keep Moving- 2010 -4.3.2.1 (Adam Deacon and Bashy Ft Paloma Faith)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | MOBO Award for Best Video - Kidulthood to Adulthood | |
| Urban Music Award for Best Video - Black Boys | ||
| Urban Music Award for Most Inspirational Artist http://www.flavourmag.co.uk/?p=274 | ||
| Screen Nation Award for Best Music Performance in Film/TV | ||
| 2009 | MOBO Award for Best Album - Catch Me If You Can | |
| MOBO Award for Best UK Act - | ||
| Urban Music Award for Best Hip Hop | ||
| Official Mixtape Awards for Best Hip Hop Mixtape - Bashy.com | ||
| Official Mixtape Awards for Best Mixtape of the Decade - The Chupa Chups Mixtape | ||
| Official Mixtape Awards for Best Mixtape 2009 - Bashy.com | ||
| UK Music Video Awards for Best Budget Video – Pop, Dance, Urban - Ransom |
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes and Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Shank | Rager | |
| 4.3.2.1 4.3.2.1 4.3.2.1 is a British crime thriller film directed by Noel Clarke and Mark Davis, released 2 June 2010. It stars, Emma Roberts, Ophelia Lovibond, Shanika-Warren Markland, Tamsin Egerton, Adam Deacon, Ashley 'Bashy' Thomas and Noel Clarke.-Plot:... |
Smooth | ||
| 2011 | The Veteran The Veteran The Veteran is a detective short story by Frederick Forsyth first published in 2001.-Plot summary:The story is written in chronological order, beginning from Day 1 to Day 24 .... |
Tyrone Jones | |
| Cockneys Vs Zombies | Mental Mickey | ||
| 2012 | The Man Inside The Man Inside The Man Inside is a 1958 British crime adventure film brought to the screen by Warwick Film Productions. The screenplay from David Shaw was based on a novel by M.E.Chaber and was directed by John Gilling. The film was Bonar Colleano's last role before he died in a car accident... |
Clayton | Lead Role |
| 2012 | My Brother The Devil | Lenny |
Television
| Year | Programme | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Black Mirror | Judge Wraith | Channel 4 |