BIO — theaspiring.me

Andrew Davis (born April 27, 1989), also known as TAME (The Aspiring Me), and son of Houston hip-hop legend Big Mello, is an American rapper, music producer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Missouri City, Texas. Davis’ journey as a producer began in 1998, using "cripple ware" computer programs like Cool Edit and Acid to loop segments from songs he heard on the radio, creating beats for his friends to rap over.

He first gained prominence in Texas when Complex Magazine listed his debut album, The Aspiring Me, among the top ten music projects to emerge from Houston in 2013. This recognition led to a two-year stint in New York City (2013-2015), where he worked as a supervisor at Whole Foods while developing his artistic practice. During this time, he founded a bi-monthly residency in Brooklyn, Show & Tell NYC, centered around the art of storytelling. He was also a key member of the Brooklyn-based collective Vapor Trails.

Following the disbandment of the collective, Davis returned to Houston to continue his work as a producer and artist. In 2017, he debuted as a conceptual performance artist, exhibiting at the Houston Museum of African American Culture. Davis was also part of the 2019 Jefferson Pinder: Fire & Movement public performance in Houston, a historic event that contributed to the exoneration of 110 Black soldiers involved in the 1917 Houston Riots at Camp Logan, overturning convictions that had stood for over a century.

In addition to his artistic practice, Davis is deeply committed to community activism and arts equity. He serves on the Accountability and Advisory Council for the BIPOC Arts Network and Fund (BANF), an organization dedicated to revolutionizing local funding landscapes and providing resources for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and other communities of color in Greater Houston.

Davis' work has earned him numerous awards, including the SACI (2019), Idea Fund (2020), and City’s Initiative & Let Creativity Happen grants (2021 & 2022), as well as a 2024 fellowship with the CAMPBIENT The 44-Hour Sound Art Residency.

Most recently, his album TAME 4: Love & Art was ranked among the Top 20 albums of 2023 by the Houston Chronicle.

CURRICULUM VITAE

2024

“Wave Check/ 100” with Phillip Pyle, II, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Texas Biennial

CAMPBIENT The 44 Hour Sound Art Residency, curated by RealMoreReal for The Creative Center for Adaptive Praxis, Millersylvania State Park, Olympia, Washington.

2023

SOLEVISION II, site-specific performance, THE NEW RED BOOK Exhibit, curated by Dr. Lindsay Gary, The Heritage Society Museum, Houston, TX.

How To Finish an Album with TAME, The Aspiring

Me, The Drawing Room (Project Row Houses),

artist residency, Houston, TX.

2022

Scott @ X, curated by Lane Seven Productions, Houston, TX.

2020-2021

‘Seedless’; a performance art short film.

2019

When i Get Home, film by Solange Knowles

Marfa, TX.

2018

Black Love Fest, curated by The Black School,

Harlem, NY, Sugar Hill Children's Museum.

Lil B THE BASEDGOD live, curated by

Margin Walker, Houston, TX, White Oak Music Hall.

You Might Like This, Cool Pants, curated by

Michael Pearson, Washington, CD.