Ashley Walters
| Ashley Walters | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Asher D |
| Born | 30 June 1982 |
| Origin | Peckham, London, England |
| Genres | UK garage, grime, hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper, musician, actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Associated acts | So Solid Crew, Mutya Buena |
Ashley Walters (born 30 June 1982), also known as Asher D, is an English rapper, musician and actor.
Contents |
[edit] Personal life
He was born in Peckham, London and raised by his mother, Pamela Case, a local government officer.[1] He attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School, in London, from the age of 6. After graduating from the Sylivia Young Theatre School, Walters starred in some of the more popular stage productions at the time.
He has two sons and two daughters with partner Natalie.[2]
[edit] Music career
Musically, he is best known as Asher D in the group So Solid Crew. He enjoyed relative success as a lyricist, particularly for their number 1 hit "21 Seconds". After the group split, he went on to focus on other projects, most recently 2006's In Memory of the Street Fighter, featuring the single "Andrea".
Asher D released a studio album in 2008 on AD82 records, entitled The Appetiser, a twelve track affair produced by both Asher D and Laurence Ezra.
With Dewi Bruce Konuah, he co-owns a production company, AD82 Productions, specialising in talent in the British music and film industries.
[edit] Conviction
Following an argument with a traffic warden in July 2001, he was found to be carrying a loaded Brocock air pistol modified to fire live ammunition. He was arrested and, in 2002, jailed for eighteen months, in a young offenders' institute. Having spent the previous nine months in custody, he subsequently served an additional nine months to complete his sentence.[3][4]
[edit] Acting career
Asher D is also an actor, appearing under his full name, Ashley Walters. He appeared in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles at age 10 and Grange Hill at age 14 (in the role of "Andy"). He appeared in Bullet Boy, where he played Ricky who had just came out of jail to start a new life/role, a role for which he was named Best Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards. He also appeared in Get Rich or Die Tryin' alongside rapper 50 Cent.
He played the role of "Wolf" in the film Stormbreaker, and "Danny" in the film Life and Lyrics for which he has received many plaudits. He has filmed WΔZ, alongside Selma Blair and Melissa George, and Sugarhouse Lane. He played Lacey in the BBC Three drama pilot West 10 LDN.
Walters appeared in six episodes of the fourth series of BBC TV drama Hustle, playing the character Billy Bond.
He has appeared in the MTV series Top Buzzer and played the role of "Al B" in the 2006 production House of 9 alongside Dennis Hopper.
Walters has appeared on stage at the National Theatre in Roy William's Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads[5] and the Royal Court Theatre in Levi David Addai's Oxford Street.[6] Another feature film, Tuesday, sees him playing a jewel thief alongside John Simm, Philip Glenister and Cristian Solimeno. He appeared in Bola Agbaje's play Off the Endz at the Royal Court Theatre during February and March 2010.
He made appearances in police drama The Bill and firefighting drama London's Burning.
Walters' Grange Hill history and autobiography was referenced by the comedian Stewart Lee on 16 March 2009, on the BBC2 show Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle in the episode themed on "Toilet Books". He also appeared in 2009's TV adaptation of Small Island and as Jack Holt in the short-lived drama Outcasts (TV series) on the BBC in February and March 2011.
For the BBC Learning project "Off By Heart Shakespeare", Walters delivered one of Shakespeare’s best known speeches, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" from Romeo and Juliet.[7]
In October 2011, Walters starred in the Arjun Rose slasher 'Demons Never Die'
From 31 October 2011, he played the main character (Dushane) in one off drama (4-DAY) 'Top Boy' alongside Kano (Kane Robinson)- (Sully) and Scorcher- (Kamale).
[edit] Filmography
- Born Romantic (2000)
- Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)
- Bullet Boy (2005)
- House of 9 (2005)
- Life and Lyrics (2006)
- Stormbreaker (2006)
- Sugarhouse (2007)
- WΔZ (2008)
- Hustle (2008)
- Dead Man Running (2009)
- Anuvahood (2011)
- Sket (2011)
[edit] Television
[edit] Discography
[edit] So Solid Crew albums
- They Don't Know — Released 2001, Reached UK Number 4
- Fuck It — Released 2001 (Remix album)
- 2nd Verse — Released 2003, Reached UK Number 44
[edit] Solo albums
- Why Me? — Unreleased garage album
- Street Sibling — Released June 2004
- Cure for Cancer Mixtape — Released June 2006
- In Memory of the Street Fighter — Released October 2006
- The Appetiser — Released November 2007
- Ashley Walters - Released 2009
[edit] Singles
- "Back in the Day / Why Me?" — Released May 2002 - UK #43[8]
- "Andrea" — Released January 2007
- "Don't Feel Like Dancin'" — Released March 2007
- "M.O.,Pt.2 - EP" - Released 27 October 2008
- "Woah!" - Released October 2008
- "With You" (with Mutya Buena)" - Released January 2009
- "Own Two Feet (with Chipmunk)" - Released May 2009
[edit] References
- ^ Who is Asher D?, BBC Newsround, 25 March 2002
- ^ Ashley Walters on the perils of being Top Boy, Radio Times, 31 October 2011
- ^ Asher D gets jailed for gun crime, BBC Newsround, 25 March 2002
- ^ So Solid Crew rapper sentenced to 18 months for having loaded gun, Daily Telegraph, 26 March 2002
- ^ Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/7781/productions/sing-yer-heart-out-for-the-lads.html
- ^ Oxford Street http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/oxford-street
- ^ "Schools - Teachers - Off By Heart Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?"". BBC. 2011-03-21. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/offbyheart/speeches/romeo_juliet_yonder_window.shtml. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 131. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
