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So Solid
Crew star Ashley Walters’s career goes from strength
to strength. After bouncing back from a jail sentence for
firearms possession, via roles in a string of movies, including
50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’, as well as landing
a role in the prime time BBC TV series Hustle, rapper Asher
D is now starring in British urban thriller Sugarhouse.
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 Everyone's looking for a way out, and that's why they get involved in stuff like crack. But the way I see it is that there's only three ways you can end up: dead, in jail or on it yourself. — Ashley Walters |
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Ashley plays the role of a crack-addicted drug dealer. I asked him if this had been his most challenging role
to date. He told me that it had caused him to come out of
his comfort zone. “I had to do a lot of research. The
director, Gary Love, did not know if I could carry off the
part, so I had to convince him I could do it. I went on a
strict diet for one and a half months, lost a lot of weight,
and went without sleep. This was my first real crack at method
acting; it wasn’t just playing myself. Being with the
other actors really helped. It made me step up my game, but
I really think it’s moved my career forward.”
I asked
Ashley what his message to young people was. “The key
message is to stick to your goals. You need a plan of action
to turn your dreams into reality. Stay away from peer pressure.
It’s not about keeping friends happy, but sticking to
the task.”
When I asked him about the influence of rap music on young
people, particularly in relation to recent gun and knife crime,
he told me: “Every aspect of media has a part to play.
It’s not just music. I remember seeing Kilroy (a daytime
talk show) where an armourer brought this whole load of weapons
on. Music can be inspirational to kids. It takes their attention
off the streets, and puts it into making music. It lets them
express how society treats them. It gives black kids in particular
a voice; they’re not listened to by society. Adults
and teachers need to be asking them ‘why do you want
to do that violence?’” |
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I
used to say that music didn’t have any influence on
kids. That was at a point in my career where I was at my peak.
I was making lots of money. I was in the media hype all the
time and they were always asking me that question, and if
I said ‘yeah, it does’, I’d be killing my
own record sales. But a lot of things happened since then,
a lot of life-changing experiences that made me realise it’s
not just about promoting your own thing. It’s selfish
to think that you’re not influencing anyone out there.
I know for a fact that when I was young I used to listen to
records and actually be moved by what people were saying on
the tracks. If they were talking about a situation that I
may be going through it was an even greater influence —
I might even do what they were saying to do. You’ve
got a responsibility to be saying something decent to your
people. —
Asher D, Calling
the Shots |
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Got
something to say? Please share your comments. |
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Asher D: My Dangerous Life With So Solid Crew
Few bands have had as significant an impact as south London’s So Solid Crew. Asher D first hit the headlines as one of the leaders of So Solid Crew. He hit the headlines again when he was arrested for allegedly threatening a traffic warden with a gun and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment. Complex, talented and stylish, his exploits have landed him on the front page of every newspaper — and into the hearts of his millions of fans. Now, in his own words, and with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs, Asher tells his whole, amazing story.
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Life
And Lyrics
A South London crew battle rap their North London rivals in
order to obtain supremacy in the city. However, the leader
of the South London crew falls for a woman who is involved
with the rival collective. The Motion Crew are a group of
south London rappers led by DJ Danny 'D-Biz' Lewis (Ashley
Walters). For Danny, his music is everything and his crew
are like family. But loyalties are put to the test when Danny
falls for the beautiful Carmen, whom he soon finds out is
related to a member of their most hated rivals, the violent
and arrogant Hard Cash Crew. Both crews seem certain to face
each other in the rap battle finals of the prestigious Mic
Masters competition, a thrilling event that will offer a final
chance for Danny to beat his rivals and make it big. Life
& Lyrics is an exhilarating story of love and loyalty
set against the backdrop of London's vibrant urban music scene.
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Bullet
Boy
There are thousands of guns on our streets. This is the story
of one. Ricky (Ashley Walters, aka So Solid Crew's Asher D),
just out of a young offenders' institute and heading home
to Hackney, is determined to go straight. Instead, he heads
into trouble when he becomes involved in a street clash and
sides with his best friend Wisdom against a local gang member.
The trouble escalates into a series of incidents that threaten
to spiral out of control. Ricky's 12-year-old brother Curtis,
adores Ricky but seems smart enough to know he doesn't want
to follow his example. However, despite the warnings from
his mother, Ricky's bad boy appeal might prove to be too attractive
for Curtis to resist. With a sound track by Robert Del Naja
(Massive Attack), Bullet boy is a gritty and realistic look
at life in the violent world of Britain's gun culture.
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It seems
that in recent months it has not been possible to open a newspaper
without reading about another young person being shot or stabbed.
Many people are blaming the music that young people listen
to, but UK artists Aggro and Mems have decided to take a stand
again gun violence.
 Corey:
There must be an alternative
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Kidulthood
is described as a new kind of British film. Set to a blistering
UK hip hop and grime soundtrack, the movie portrays 24 hours
in the life of inner-city adolescents. Kidulthood, a harrowing,
shocking story that finds humour in its narrative, claims
to be based on real kids, real stories, real life.
Kidulthood |
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Is it
all too easy for politicians and the media to blame gangsta
rappers for the fact that young people carry guns and knives?
Could it be that the alienated youths that do so have been
far more influenced by other factors such as poor education
or family breakdown?
Taking
the Rap? |
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For many
young people who want to listen to grime and UK garage their
main source is pirate radio. For many, the pirate stations
are a breeding ground for new talent waiting to break into
the mainstream. The authorities take a different view; they
say that pirate radio is a public nuisance linked to crime.
Pirate
Radio: Raising Talent or Funding Crime? |
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