Ashley Thomas AKA Bashy is at the pinnacle of a new wave of fresh British inner city musical talent that's emerged over the last few years. This 23 year old north west London resident , with Dominican and Jamaican heritage, has, in his virgining career, created a phenomenal impact in the streets that's begun to knock aggressively on the door of the wider mainstream industry at large.

All of this has been created with the release of just two independent mixtapes, 'Ur Mum Volume One' & 'The Chupa Chups Mixtape - Assorted Flavours'. Both where released independently, the second by Bashy himself, and sold significant numbers through just simple hand-to-hand means.

"it was crazy! we sold 1000 in our first week! By the second week we'd sold another 1000, by the end of the month we where at 3,000 sold! This is without any major distribution support. Just making friends take 100, then someone rings you up like 'can I get 50', '100', '200', 'Have you got 500'...'

So where did it all start? Well his lyrical sparing fist began in the playground of his local Kensal Rise comprehensive, where at the age of 14, the confident youngster battled the older kids in the school who in his own words he 'destroyed'. This 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 stripes battling other hood hero's of the time.

Word continued to spread and soon reached Major Ace, a member of one of Grime's forbearing groups Pay as You Go, who gave Bashy his number and told him to call him.

"So I phoned' Recalls Bashy... 'but he used to ring me out, voice mail, voice mail, voice mail. I used to bang his phone week in week out religiously when I was 16, I just kept phoning him, but he was big then so I didn't care, he was like Jay-Z ta man ...anyway one day he picked up and say's 'who's this?? So I said 'you told me to call you, I want to come on radio' so he's like 'meet me at'..."

Soon after he put the phone down he was making the long trip across the capital to East London joining the vibrant pirate scene that was erupting at that time. From that point he began to build a name broadcasting his talents across the airwaves alongside other then lesser know talents such as Kano, Dizzie Rascal, Dirty Goodz, Wiley & More Fire. Soon after he found himself in the booth recording what would soon become 'Ur Mum Volume One'.

So what separates him from the other two million mc's currently with a myspace page and a mixtape?

Substance... "'I'm a street, social, commentator I talk about LIFE, I talk about whats 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 dexturous word play that's bound to grab any unsuspecting listeners attention."

There's more than one very polished side to Ashley Thomas, He's an extremely articulate and educated young Black man. Another to emerge from the illustrious Brit School of Performing Arts following a long line of previous graduates that have gone on to make huge waves in entertainment, music and film.

And he plans to continue this too....

"What people don't know about me is that I'm not some rapper trying to be an actor, I was actually into acting first. I got an A* at GCSE drama and before that I was going to Theatre Arts from the age of five and more recently I was at Brit School. But because the music thing took off first that's what people see me as."

In fact get prepared to see a lot more of Bashy outside the booth! He recently held the lead role in the sold out play 'Mind Blowing Decisions' at Hackney Empire and has had a number of significant offers from a variety of other notable parties.

Going back to the booth for a moment 2007 ended with a huge bang for Bashy as he unleashed the mammoth 'Black Boys' single onto the world! This really caught the imagination of a nation in turmoil. With reports of shootings and stabbing popping up, on what seemed to be every other news bulleting and with the media continually focusing on the lack of role models in certain communities, it felt that the nations inner city youth needed a reminder that they had a number of positive figureheads they COULD look to.

"I wanted to pay tribute and congratulate a lot of the achievers in our community. The media try and suggest that we don't have role models, but there's loads and I've put some of them on this track".

Still making an immense amount of noise after its release the remix's have further added fuel to the fire. Bashy created UK music history in getting some of the countries brightest stars to come together to share their views on the subject. Contributions from Nolay, Skinnyman, Ty, Big Narstie, Tinnie Tempah, Wretch 32, Chipmunk, Swiss, Mike GLC, J2K, Skeptah, Sincere, Akala & Scorcher has helped turn 'Black Boys' from a great record into a movement, a slice of social commentary that's sparked debate not only in the inner-city playground's and forums but university lecture halls and political debating circles alike.

So having left all the battles and beefs behind, with fresh acting roles on the table, and a single behind him that has etched itself into British black music history, what's next on the agenda you may ask?

Well first up is the release of the Black Boys special edition DVD box set which will include all the remix video's, exclusive pictures, behind the scene's footage, the making of and much much more!

Following that there's the highly anticipated album to come 'Catch Me If You Can'. Due for release in the summer '08.

The UK music scene has stepped up a gear and it looks like Bashy's in the drivers seat!!

BLACK BOYS SPECIAL EDITION DVD / CD OUT NOW

Finally the wait is over, after all the hype! All the controversy, the Black boys special edition DVD/CD Boxset is now available in all good record stores.

Featuring a full length documentary with behind the scenes footage along with interviews with all the artists involved. CHIPMUNK J2K BIG NARSTIE SINCERE WRETCH 32 JA JA DURTY GOODZ NOLAY SKEPTA SKINNY MAN AKALA SWISS TINEE TEMPAH MIKE GLC AND MANY MORE!! You'll also get all five versions of the video and audio alongside exclusive pics taken at the shoot.