Black, queer, feminist, poz, and working class, Tim'm T. West has embraced all of who he is and, with laser-beam precision, harnessed the power of his truth to illuminate, celebrate, inspire, provoke, and bear witness. As a teacher, performance artist, author, and culture producer, Tim'm has become an exemplar among contemporary Renaissance personalities of the early 21st Century as he brings others to voice through education for critical consciousness. Indeed, that Tim'm has been interviewed by such dizzying array of media outlets from Newsweek to the New York Times is a testament to his importance to the spirit and history of the times as a foundational maverick among black, multi-disciplinary artists. Even a restricted Google' search of just his name yields over 700 Internet occurrences.

It was in 1999, while still juggling arts and graduate studies at Stanford, that Tim'm co-founded Deep Dickollective (DDC). In Spring 2007, DDC will release its third, full-length project, 'On Some Other,' on Sugartruck Recordings. Widely published and anthologized in both academia and the mainstream press, Tim'm occupies a unique position among the provocative voices and critics of the contemporary Hip-Hop landscape. He is featured prominently as one of the critical voices in the acclaimed 2005 Hip Hop documentary, Pick Up the Mic. Tim'm also appears in Byron Hurt's critically acclaimed Hip Hop documentary 'Beyond Beats and Rhymes.'

The foundation for his subsequent efforts can be found in the red dirt of Taylor, Arkansas where Tim'm grew up before leaving for Duke University where he completed his BA. From there, he went on to earn an MA in Liberal Studies/Philosophy from the Graduate Faculty of The New School for Social Research in 1998 and another MA in Modern Thought & Literature from Stanford in 2002. Known for his engaging teaching methods, Tim'm has taught on the post-secondary level as an instructor of Writing Pedagogy classes at Eugene Lang College of The New School (NYC) and as an instructor in Stanford University's first-year Writing and Critical Thinking Program. On the secondary level, he served as the Department Chair of English and Creative Writing at the Oakland School of the Arts before relocating to Washington, DC where he taught in the English Department of the Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy. Most recently he worked for College Summit, Inc. as a High School Coordinator helping to the build capacity of high schools to get more of their students into college.

A long-term part of the College Summit family since its formal inception in 1995, Tim'm left the organization in the summer of 2007 to pursue his writing, performance, and creative consulting full-time in Atlanta, GA. Flirting, Tim'm West's newly-published (2007) third book follows his chapbook, BARE: notes from a porchdweller which chronicles his move from California to DC, his new hopes, and his new loves. In 2004, Tim'm released Songs from Red Dirt on Cellular Records, a musical complement to his first book, 2002's Red Dirt Revival: a poetic memoir in 6 Breaths.

In June 2007, while working to publish "flirting", Tim'm completed his second solo release "Blakkboy Blue(s)" which has already been received with high expectations and great critical acclaim.

Most recently, Tim'm has been hosting the 'Front Porch' series, a Spoken Word/Hip-Hop/Soul Monthly in DC. The Front Porch in DC will continue, while Tim'm develops a similar gathering of progressive artists and intellectuals in Atlanta, GA.