Interview with Bashy, Markus the Sadist
By Sophia Jackson
Published October 1, 2009

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. In October Bashy will kick off the UK tour as the leading role in ‘Markus the Sadist,’ a Jonzi D production.

What was it like being on the buses and do you miss your days as a bus driver?
I hated it and I don’t miss it.

Elecrtric Proms, Downing Street, touring internationally – there’s no stopping you at the moment. Why do you think that is?
I’m a young, focused individual and blessed to have gifts. It’s disrespectful not to share them with everyone, there are so many people who believe in me and if I’m not pushing myself it’s out of order.

Who is responsible for instilling that kind of self-belief in you and your positive, ‘can do’ attitude?
My mum – she’s very supportive of what I do, my mum and my sister – I don’t care what anyone else thing because they’re not at my house – so.

You’re pretty involved in Facebook and Twitter – how do you feel those websites have helped your career?
They have helped me to get the support to my fans and keep people up to date – can’t always have a video so it helps the marketing.

You’re working with Jonzi D on the play ‘Markus the Sadist’ taking the lead role. He’s a force to be reckoned with – what have you learnt from him?
He knows what he wants – he’s very open and likes to hear the artists’ opinion. Jonzi is one of the early pioneers of hip hop in this country and people need to recognise that. It’s a privilege. I don’t think enough people know how much he’s done and he’s a got a lot more to come.

The subject matter is about the hip hop industry – how do any of the themes touch a nerve with you as an artist?
I think it’s a similar story just not so drastic. The issue of being an artist, doing their thing, people trying to influence you in a certain manner.

Theatre audiences can often lack diversity. How can we change that?
By making it more appealing and relatable and changing the style of theatre so more people can get into it, if it’s stuffy – it’s not appealing to them. The wickedest thing is that I think it can come across a bit elitist.

Who do you rate in the world of acting?
Well I’ve been doing music for the last two years so have had no chance to go to theatre but I saw a South African piece at Theatre Royal Stratford East (Foreplay) earlier this year. It frustrates me that I don’t get to go as much as I grew up going to the theatre with my mum but I’ve just been so busy. Mum used to take me to a lot of the black theatre though and I remember seeing the ‘Magic Dutch Pot’, that’s one of my earliest memories. I love theatre more than film – and I would like to start to do more of it. I did my first piece of theatre when I was 6-years-old. And I went to Brit School. Theatre is more cool, more organic, as you can get a full sense of the character and there are no airs and graces.

In order to take your acting and even your music to another level – do you think going stateside is the answer?
I would like it not to be the case. I would like the British public to really get into their artists and support them rather than let them escape to America and find fame and fortune there.

What is it about ‘Black Boys’ do you think that made it such an influential and humongous hit?
It was so special because of the timing – it was needed to be said.. These things are still happening – at the time ‘Black Boys’ was released the killings were more prominent in the news. The feedback has been intense with people running up to me, full of love and hugs, saying they’ve got youngsters saying it changed their life, parents thanking me for putting their child on the straight and narrow. I even had people who had been in jail telling me that it helped them to keep positive.

On your album there are some seriously positive tunes: ‘Living My Dreams’ and ‘You Can Do Anything’, my favourites – what keeps you motivated and focused when things don’t work out the way you want them to?
I need to stay on it. You only have one life and you have to live your life. When you’re dead, you’re dead.

Why should we come and see Markus the Sadist?
It’s outside traditional theatre. It’s fresh, new, about our culture, talented cast, good story, and it’s fun. It’s a different stage production - a hip hop musical theatre production. If you love theatre you should come and see it, if you love music you should come and see especially as we have Soweto Kinch doing the musical score.