JAM NO PEANUT
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photos by @di_wei
Jamel "Jam No Peanut" Mims is an African American rapper, multimedia artist and revolutionary based in New York City. Also known as the bilingual storyteller MC Tingbudong, his work concerns the historical and contemporary cultural connections between Black America and China, social movements, memory and augmented/virtual/hyperreality.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Boston College, and studied at the University of Business and Economics in Beijing. After graduating, he received a Fulbright scholarship to pursue an independent study about hip hop in China. He was an artist-in-residence at Found Sound China, a US State Department funded music diplomacy residency that brought select American and Chinese producers together for a collaborative tour. He began studying mandarin as a freshman at Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC.
As an activist and organizer with the NYC Revolution Club and Stop Mass Incarceration Network, Mims has worked tirelessly to end the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy. He is best known for working with Cornel West and Carl Dix on a campaign nonviolent civil disobedience which raised a national debate over the policy, ultimately leading to its removal. As an educator, he is known for developing youth-centered culturally responsive curricula and programming to teach subjects ranging from test prep and coding, to mandarin and career readiness. He has delivered workshops for partners including Google for Education, SXSWEdu, NYU Shanghai and The New York City Department of Education.
As MC Tingbudong, he has performed extensively across the U.S. and China: including South by Southwest Music Festival, China Week LA, Yue Space, NOX Chengdu, and Modern Sky Music Festival. His work has been shown at Telematicc Gallery, WallPlay, and SmackMellon Gallery in New York City. In 2020, he was awarded the Civic Media Fellowship supported by USC Annenberg and Macarthur Foundation, and is currently a senior fellow supporting the program. His work has been featured in The New York Times, i_D magazine, Variety, VICE, The Nation, Radii China, Goldthread and more.
