Asher D

Dogged by controversy throughout his early career, U.K. rapper Asher D put his troubled So Solid Crew days behind him to become both a solo artist in his own right, and one of the most promising young talents on the British film scene. Born Ashley Walters in Peckham, South London in 1982, he attended the famous Sylvia Young Theatre School from the age of seven on, and appeared in the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Grange Hill before concentrating on the MC skills which he showcased on pirate radio station Supreme FM. In 1998, he became part of tabloid-baiting garage collective So Solid Crew, who went on to score a number one single with “21 Seconds,” and a multi-platinum album, They Don't Know, in 2001, but in the same year, he was charged with handgun possession following a row with a traffic warden, and was subsequently jailed for 18 months. Following his release, and the band’s self-imposed hiatus, he embarked on a solo career, with his debut album, Street Sibling, in 2004, followed by In Memory of the Street Fighter (2006), The Appletiser (2007), and Ashley Walters (2009), and a mixtape entitled Cure for Cancer, all of which received critical acclaim but few sales. However, a return to acting proved to be much more fruitful. After appearing on 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin', he landed the lead roles in British urban films Bullet Boy and Life and Lyrics, and starred in horror flick WaZ, children’s fantasy Stormbreaker, and the BBC1 sci-fi drama Outcasts. ~ Jon O’Brien