Bashy on first album in 15 years: “I didn’t know whether I was gonna make music again”
nme.comBashy has spoken to NME about ‘Being Poor Is Expensive’ – his first studio album in 15 years.Last week, the Kensal Rise-raised star has made his return to music after taking a break to pursue an acting career.
Bashy – real name Ashley Thomas – initially rose to fame by being an emerging star in the then-burgeoning grime scene back in the early 2000s.
He put out his seminal ‘Chupa Chups’ mixtape in 2007 and his debut album ‘Catch Me If You Can’ in 2009 – both deemed as UK underground classics.Now, 15 years after he dropped the latter, Thomas wanted to make a “very honest and raw” record about northwest London “in the same way Kendrick Lamar will talk about Compton or Nas is talking about New York”.
He also stated that watching his friend Kano create the 2016 Mercury Prize-nominated album ‘Made in the Manor’ made him want to show the “vibes and culture” of “Nart Wes'”.Bashy explained to NME why he took a long hiatus from the rap world.
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