*All photos by Atoosa Moinzadeh*

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You maybe know Goya Gumbani from his [NTS Radio show](https://www.nts.live/artists/105610-goya-gumbani) running for the past 4-5 years, or maybe you know him from the many fashion brands’ lookbooks he’s modeled for. Or maybe he’s in your creative constellation in Brooklyn or London, his dual homes.  

If you don’t know him, now’s the perfect time to get familiar, with his proper debut album Warlord of the Weejuns having just dropped on Ghostly, a 2025 continuation of the jazz rap of the ‘90s that was swirling when he was a kid. After years of one-off songs, guest features, and collaborating on joint projects with other artists, this is his own vision of smooth, Negroni-sipping, loafer-wearing hip-hop. 

We chatted at CWW Radio Shop record store/event space in Crown Heights about his new album, which features a cast of friends, like Ya Ya Bey, Joe Armon-Jones, Swarvy, lojii, Franky Bones, and hella others, and also about loafers and how they affect they way you move through the world, and the concept of embodying one's art. 

--

**I was just saying, we’re at a bar right now, and you’re drinking liquor. Can you think of a few times alcohol shows up on the album?**

Aight. Yeah. On “Lizards/Dancing With the Devil,” one of the lines is like “I need the elixir, and a mixer, and a twist of fruit.” 

**You got a skit in there where they’re talking about “top shelf” something or other.** 

Negroni. They’re talking about Negroni. That’s my drink. I’m in my 30s now, i’m not drinking for sport, I’m drinking for leisure at the end of a crazy day or week. And I like something that you’re not gonna drink mad quick. With each sip, it hits a little different than the last one. Powerful drink. Not for the faint hearted. 

**Congrats on the album, we’re talking on album release day. It’s a very collaborative album, although the spotlight is on you and it’s your proper debut. How many people was the core group who worked on the album?**

There was a lot of collaborations on the album. When I was starting, I was like it’s my first one on Ghostly, I was like if i could ever do anything I wanted, I could do it now. But then I started to realize, there was no connection between me and some of these people I wanted to work with. There was no musical connection. I feel like, with music, you meet artists that understand that we serve music. And then you meet artists where, this is about me, or about something that’s not really about the music. So, when I started I was like I wanna work with all these people, but I wasn’t getting the love for the music. 

**You had some missed connections?**

It was more like, now wasn’t the time. They had their vision and I had mine. But I wanted people who really cared about making something that would stand the test of time, and be as motivational and inspirational in 100 years as it is now. And the first few people I reached out, that wasn’t really their vibe. It was more like, this is my fee, to even think about this. And I was like, bruh, I don’t even know you. I wanna sit down with you for six hours, and like…

**It was too industry.** 

It was quite industry. So I went with the type of collaboration I did because of the sense of community around me. I worked with the people who really fucked with me. I was like, I wanna work with you but I’m directing this whole thing, and they were like we wanna get on board. We wanna help you get your vision out. We wanna lend our creative vision to yours. In a way that’s about more than streaming, or plays, but more like us serving the music. 

**It sounds to me like you went looking for something, and then when it didn’t work out, you let it come to you. Is that true?**

Yeah. I let it come to me. And I looked more inwards than outwards. I was like, I’m really grateful for what’s going on around me. When you’re in a world, it’s sometimes difficult to appreciate it. You go looking far and wide, and it’s right on your doorstep.

**Would you say everyone on the album is the homie?**

Every single person. We’ve all sat for 8 hours, made music, ate food, and watched YouTube, and Netflix, and Tubi…

**Not Tubi.** 

Or I could go as far back as Limewire. 

**Did you come to everyone with a vision?**

What I did was, I got into this practice. I got this from D’Angelo, where he would go to the studio and listen to music and watch videos. 

**Oh like with Questlove, watching Prince videos.** 

Exactly, the Prince shit. So I was going to mad people’s houses and studios and the first thing we would talk about is, have you heard this? What you been listening to? I would be like, this is the vibe. I was playing people, Brown Sugar, Voodoo, LIke Water for Chocolate, the Last Poets’ first album, Gil Scott Heron and Brian Jackson’s album, and Miles Davis – Miles Ahead, On the Corner, Shades of Blue and Sketches of Spain. Before I would start the session that’s what we would listen to. 

![Screen Shot 2025-03-31 at 7.02.44 AM.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/Screen_Shot_2025_03_31_at_7_02_44_AM_6cd43ae6b1.png)

**Was it like a test? Like if you fuck with this music, you’re worthy?**

No, because they knew all that music. They already made jazz, and love hip-hop, and love reggae. And there was a lot of understanding of music – I’m kind of new to that. 

**It’s a very live band-y album. Who’s performing on Tuesday in New York?**

This kid Buzz on drums, Clint on piano, and a bass player named Evan, played a lot of stuff with Ya Ya Bey. All New York people. Evan is from Queens, Clint and Buzz live in Brooklyn. 

**What iterations have you done on stage?**

I’ve done three piece band, four piece band, five piece band. I’ve done me and a DJ. And me solo, me, and SP, and a Kaos pad. Kind of an artistic thing. A little more than a rap show. With this album, I knew I wanted to do more of a band thing. And I wanted to go outside the box, and make it from scratch. And any band, I wanted them to be able to musically read it, and also feel the groove. 

**So when you play in London, will you play with the people you wrote it with?**

Some of them, there’s a guy who helped me weave it together. Franky Bones. He produced the second song, the second to last song, and the song right in the middle. So when you listen to those three songs, the same chord progression runs through all of them. “Beautiful BLACK,” “Uptown Mami Skit,” and “Mind, Body, Spirit” with Seafood Sam. 

**“Uptown Mami Skit” she’s like what the fuck is a Weejun?**

She’s from uptown, ha ha. Shout out Liz. 

**They wear loafers in Harlem though.** 

They do, they do. Her pops got loafers, I’ll tell you that much. 

**How crazy is that, you named your album after a loafer. Are you wearing them right now?**

I am indeed, I would be so off-brand if I wasn’t. 

**Are those Gucci?**

No Maharishi with GH Bass, army camo embossed. Under the right light, it’s a movie. 

**Is it a corporate sponsorship?**

Hell no.

**That’s so much free press. **

I mean, fuck them. Ha ha. But the Weejun, is pretty much the penny loafer.

**They invented it?**

Nah they didn’t invent it. The Weejun was called the Weejun on some, it was like a fisherman’s shoe. A Norwegian fisherman’s shoe. The guy who cleaned the boats would wear like, a moccasin. And they (GH Bass) spoke to some guy and were like, can you turn it into a leather version? For like college n&&&as? It was like for n&&&as who went to Yale. It was made out of rubber before. It was a rubber loafer. It was super comfortable. 

**They should retro the rubber loafer and put you as the creative director.** 

I’m about to do my own loafer soon. I’m gonna make one loafer. And kind of wrap up this whole album. At like the end. One of my homies got a loafer brand, they’re called Horatio, [Horatio London](https://www.horatio-london.com/). And they kind of put me onto loafers. The first pair of loafers they gave me, I’m trying to do a version of that, it’s a croc skin horsebit. 

**So you can’t put the penny in it.** 

You can’t put the penny in it, but they made these versions with the leather strap and then the buckle over it. But we’ll see. It’s probably dropping in summertime, at the end of this album campaign. 

**You gotta drop at the end of summer, for back to school. Back to college.** 

Facts!

**I used to want to be a shoe designer when I was a kid. Did you ever go to fashion school?**

No, but one of my ex ex ex ex girlfriends was a shoe designer and she put me onto how a shoe is made. It’s not easy. It’s a lot of moving parts. She lowkey put me on. She was making shoes when I was just getting into loafers. I was like, this is crazy. She does music shit now. But she was making shoes from scratch. So I learned about lasts, the thing that shapes the shoe, everything. She’s a don for that. She had amazing taste in shoes. I mean, her sneaker game was trash, no disrespect. But she could make a good women’s shoe. And she made a few loafers, too. 

**Are you from Flatbush?**

I’m from Canarsie. 

**And how old are you?**

Thirty-four. 

**So you grew up mostly in the ‘90s. What’s like a classic Brooklyn shoe to you?**

Those Nike boots. Goadome. 

**They’re hard. And they speak to the fact that in New York, you’re often urban hiking. The loafer, on the other hand, screams to me “indoor spaces.”**

Yeah, or like, I’m reckless. I do the most in my loafers. I do the extra shit. At a festival for four days camping. 

**Do you have special calluses on your foot?**

No. I have every type of loafer, for one. The hiking type, the lug sole, the Vibram sole. But nah I just, I wear good socks…I believe in good socks. And never really rushing, bro. Any time I fuck my feet up in loafers, it’s because I’m running crazy, OD running.

**Do you think the loafer changes the speed you move through life?**

You just move a little more like, light. Light on your feet, but elegantly cruising. 

**People say in New York your coat is your car. But I think your shoes are your car. To the point where you move fast or slow, navigating the room, or the way you pivot when you turn a corner, whether it’s a loose ass Timberland, or a svelte loafer…you’re gonna take up space a lot differently in your environment. That’s what I like about style. How it’s about your vibe. I think fashion is for the birds, but style is eternal, and how you live with it. Fashion is for the birds, it’s fatbphobic, and antiblack, and wasteful, and run by white men.**   

Facts. When I think of fashion, I think of like, style is for leaders. Fashion is for those that don’t care that much and kind of go with the flow.

**So true. Fashion is for people with “taste” but actually the people with the least taste who are the biggest partakers. I might edit this out, but I’m doing an event here Sunday, and the homie invited the other homie to come out, and he was like “nah, I don’t really like DJ sets, I like the algorithm.” And here we are at a record store, and some people, who ostensibly are people of taste, would never even come here.** 

There’s people that like, don’t really care about going and seeking out some shit. They just like, OK this is what’s current, I need to be in this mindframe. And there’s people who are like, fuck that. 


![goya5.JPEG](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/goya5_d33872d44c.JPEG)

**And step outside the trend cycle, and to a degree the marketplace.** 

The box. That’s kind of what the album…it’s some shit I walk with anyway. It’s what I stand for. But when I was making it, I wasn’t thinking about connecting with any group of people. It’s beautiful that it does, and a reminder of what art can do, among people. When you put everything into it honestly and wholeheartedly, it can connect with the next individual. 

**I feel the stronger you express yourself, the more contagious your product is. And you express yourself through style, and music, and curation – overused word, and so is creative direction, but you do that. And compared to a lot of musicians, it’s in you. I can tell that, from how you made the album with friends, you can’t fake that, you made those friends based on your personality. You’re coming from a place of like, genuineness, consistently. You weren’t a different guy when we shot your photo for this interview. Same guy.** 

Right, you gotta get into character. Nah. It’s really am embodiment of self. 

**You should be so grateful for that, because a lot of people don’t have a personality.** 

Ha ha. Facts. And knowing all the people on the album, when I step back, I feel really grateful. We have a genuine relationship that’s not even musical…it’s like, what do you wanna eat? Are you hungry? Or speaking on some deeper shit. The music is the canvas, for after that, it’s an energy that you get from the people you admire and care for. 

**I want my daughter to have this quality. Putting out a vibe and people just want to get down with you. That’s dope. It’s probably what makes you have friends, in the place you were born, and in London, who helped you make your album. You have a quality that is prosocial. And I feel like America is so antisocial. So you gotta celebrate when people are open to what could happen between us, you know…maybe something good. Do you think you’re optimistic, as a person?****

I lead with positivity. I’m open-minded. And if you do that, you’ll always grow. 

**A lot of people don’t want to grow, though.** 

More the understanding of what growth is, gets misconstrued. It’s not always linear. 

**Maybe people do want to grow. Attitudes are changing around mental health. Maybe people want to turn inward and be learners.** 

Now is a different time. It’s easy to be antisocial, and a recluse. When I was growing up, you couldn’t really be that. There was no computer in your house. When I grew up Playstation 1 came out. Prior to that it was about mingling, outside. The computer was the family computer, playing solitaire. You weren’t really there. You wanted to be outside. I used to fiend for going outside. When I was grounded, I couldn’t go outside. You can’t do that, now. It’s not a punishment if the kid has everything they want in their bedroom. I’m gonna go on Discord. 

**Yo, I wanted so ask you. Do you listen to Digable Planets, Camp Lo, or Guru’s Jazzmatazz?** 

Yeah, I listened to Jazzmatazz a lot during the early makings of the album. Camp Lo I’ve been listening to all my life. Had no choice. Digable Planets, I love Digable Planets. Ladybug Mecca did a song with Pink Siifu, and I called him like how did you get her on this song? I was like bruh…

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**He’s similar to you, in that it’s in him. He’s musically like putting everything into it. Like you’re getting to know him by listening.** 

Me and him are from the same cloth. And same era, in terms of, we’re baby Miles Davises. And his shit is like, so many different bags. And it’s all still an extension of him. I really admire him, that’s my brother, he’s boundless. There’s no box you can fit him in. He redefines himself, constantly. It’s a weird concept, as an artist, that you can only do what you’re known for. I feel like art is more expression than it’s about giving people what they want.

--

*At this point the event space started blasting music, but it was a good place to end anyway. Thanks Goya!*

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The Goya Gumbani Interview

richsince06

Great read would love to own this in print. Laron is the best producer coming out of New York that man has rangeeeeeeeeeee .. .world soon find out and this is a great piece towards to puzzle! Congrats  

CROOKNYC

Nah this interview is mad good and it’s really crazy for anyone to read that’s been OD invested in underground NYC rap for like the past decade or so. I dead remember how nearly all the shit I listened to, whether it was ECW, MIKE, or Jay Critch, Laron had his hands on some fye. Dude is a Goat. 

The Laron Interview

The fish narc Interview

![kim 2024.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/kim_2024_7b0c68f1a6.png)

I asked Finals year-end contributors to do whatever they wanted this year, but also gave ideas of either a straight top 10, or to think of someone/place/thing that had a "huge year." Special Texas-via-Manhattan correspondent kimdollars1 did both, detailing an argument for the Upper West Side as having a legitimately outsized and generative year in rap music, and kicking in a hot 10 at the end. Endless salute to Kim for this kind of work, going above and beyond fr. Check the story below and buy/stream her new  project, out today, [*The Bohemian*](https://kimila.bandcamp.com/album/the-bohemian)!

-Andrew

--

Keeping in the vein of Finals EOY coverage, I wanted to write about “having a big year,” and while in 2024, the “downtown scene” continues to generate much of the cultural image, energy, and attention for Manhattan (within certain parameters of trendiness and cool), I have no choice but to cast my vote for the Upper West Side. 

This year, we got near daily dispatches from Manhattan Valley courtesy of the prolific Sweepers Ent. It was Jay Hound and Jay5ive who held it down after sending off 2023 with the minimal and menacing “[Ukraine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDXHek8uTUI),” as crew members Sdot Go and NazGPG remain incarcerated. My favorite from Jay Hound was the bouncy “[Mysterio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lulAhSmf8AY),” along with his appearance on Jay5ive’s Sweepa Baby tape with “[Pill Popper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY0fVnFW5kg).” It’s on this project where Jay5ive really carves out his own vision of gritty NY pain rap. Particularly on “Oh Lord (Интерлюдия),” we get reflections on his drug use, his criminal history and inability to break from it, and the feelings he has for his friends who are currently behind bars. In the lines where he speaks of his love for his daughter, his intonations make me wonder if he grew up listening to Juelz Santana (a bonafide Amsterdam Avenue legend).  

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Only ten or so blocks south, we saw a breakout year for M Row, who built a following around his versatility, delivering edgier, more traditional drill tracks alongside party, love, heartbreak, and pain raps, all culminating in a “heartbroken ooter” persona. “Undefeated,” his raunchy collab with MCVERTT, was a big highlight, but I found myself coming back to a solid handful of his singles. 

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These artists appeal to me in how they push the conventions of drill to meet their perspective, with new emotional depth as a result, but alas we still see the emergence of classic, more violent tropes. Here, this is staged as a “beef” between M Row and the Sweepers, particularly Jay5ive. I am not really at all qualified to speak on stuff like this, but my research indicates that M Row and 5ive actually grew up together and are… lowkey kind of friends? I suppose that the [hangouts on Instagram Live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=64XihCRAaZ7I8AIY&v=65qZGH3L1Kc&feature=youtu.be) speak for themselves… Though I don’t doubt that their current dynamic produces tension amongst their circles? Who’s to say… I suppose I find it reassuring (albeit depressing) that the ultimate end to all the dissing is allegedly just some healthy competition, savvy kids playing into the warped demands of their audience. 

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An analysis and critique of how violence is represented in contemporary rap music can be found across Kurious’ new album [*Majician*](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/kurious-mf-doom-rap-new-album-interview-1235113062/), which garnered attention for its MF DOOM credit as Executive Producer. Kurious is cemented as a hallowed figure in the underground rap world due to his feature on Operation Doomsday’s “[?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ldikD78vTw),” but his discography runs deep across decades, representing the Upper West throughout. Hopefully my description thus far hasn’t made the project sound stodgy and moralistic. The new album strikes a lovely balance of aged wisdom and fresh sonics, particularly on tracks like “Untainted” and “1984,” where Kurious waxes about the Upper West Side of his childhood. Other highlights for me include DOOM tribute “Cow’s Eye,” upbeat opener “Unknown Species,” and the head-bumping “Barry Gibbs.” It’s a great release, and it makes the Upper West Side’s big year a true multi-generational front.

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I would be remiss not to mention the Upper West Side rapper who garnered the most critical attention this year, even landing a [Nardwaur interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=w6c1CT5IKT8RU3QE&v=UrY9g0JB0uM&feature=youtu.be) about Riverside Park and local Chinese-Latin restaurants. Of course, I’m talking about Xaviersobased, the experimental vocalist who [skates at the Monument](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dakQJGsMyKg) and shoots [promo vids on 110th](https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=zLAvq_7FRT66rIjj&v=7oCFjjOyTjY&feature=youtu.be). Like, I did a double take when I heard the V&T reference on “[Pediatrician](https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=3IpTRHp8bYD-uzPy&v=3-5eQXy7wjo&feature=youtu.be).” I had my middle school graduation dinner there! Speaking of middle school, Xav kicked off the year with “[finna go ot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=_eU8pgdn8SG_gkT4&v=JzRwyv4Xq60&feature=youtu.be),” shot at St. John’s the Divine and the courtyard of MS 54 (alma mater of none other than [A$AP Rocky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=BYE9zKahPNm89640&v=xjQBzfLA9MA&feature=youtu.be)). Considering that I also grew up on the Upper West Side listening to a lot of Chief Keef, I liked this track a lot. I find it interesting how geographically close Xavier is to artists like the Sweepers, and yet his music occupies a totally different world, only connecting in tangential moments, like on SoundCloud-loosie-turned-Osamason-video-cameo “[Macaroni Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q5loTbMHio).” Once again invoking Keef, Xav delivers the best version of the 917 Rackz-produced track, which also saw a release from [Jay5ive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg--CqHFiS8). Between *keep it goin xav* and *with 2*, both solid tapes, we also got “ghost town,” blown-out and surreal with stand-out lines like the brazen and emphatic, “Baby I’m sorry if I fucked up your pronouns.”

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![Screen Shot 2024-12-06 at 5.47.59 AM.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/Screen_Shot_2024_12_06_at_5_47_59_AM_33bed00569.png)

*Xav getting the Tay Zonday co-sign in the “Macaroni Time” Youtube comments ✍️✍️*

Writing for [Passion of the Weiss](https://www.passionweiss.com/2024/07/25/on-nettspend-xaviersobased-the-confusing-future-of-hip-hop/), Jayson Buford analyzes how Xaviersobased differs from more traditional rap stars, presenting an artsy rebelliousness over the rough grittiness that used to define New York lyricists. I understand how Buford views this as part of a broader, more frustrating shift that aligns with the corporate decontextualization of hip-hop. But simultaneously, it does feel like the article projects a kind of narrow expectation of masculinity onto Xavier that doesn’t feel quite right. Let’s not forget we’re talking about some young bisexual kid. His mom used to be a [house DJ](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/xaviersobased-nettspend-yhapojj-interview-1234982383/) and his dad allegedly works for [Microsoft](https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=iwjlo6blxr4FXBUo&v=yhJrYOkw7tI&feature=youtu.be). Welcome to the Upper West Side! While Buford shakes his head, I think to myself, “The kids are alright.” The last big rap phenom to come out of the neighborhood was Wiki, who depicted Buford’s grit as a suffocating feature of city life. But while Wiki and Ratking did innovate on the classic New York sound, they remained firmly rooted in tradition. It feels refreshing to see Xavier by and large upend that. As Buford points out, his strength is in taking the delocalized influences that come with an internet-based music education and presenting them in a singular manner.

Ultimately, I’m just happy when I get a glimpse of the neighborhood in a music video. Since I no longer live in New York, it’s one of the things that can connect me to home offhandedly when I’m clicking around the web. There’s no delight like catching some random shots of Broadway in the B-roll of a Max B [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQdP30YH4xs) [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T08Pfm2sB4M). And before Xav was posted up in front of [PS 165](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idAJ9aXrDWs), we got our glimpses of 109th from [Cardi B](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-39SFNDiOCY). Anyways, here’s my top 10 songs – peep the Port Authority bowling alley in the [Diany Dior video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6CZzJMnbs8) if you remain unconvinced of West Manhattan’s cultural dominance this year! 

<iframe style="border-radius:12px" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3AbNgEODyD0APxuunqe54Z?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="352" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy"></iframe


Best Music 2024: kimdollars1 On a Huge Year for the Upper West Side

B IVERS

One of the most idiotic, incel-adjacent, lazy (yet simultaneously try-hard) collections of music I've come across in a long time. This is not sonic BDSM so much as mental BDSM, in that it punishes the listener for caring about anything. 

Garrett

Coprophilia more than anything else, imho. 

skerbz

an excellent capsule of the genre for 2024. thanks KPR and Finals! 
my cats and i loved it <3

![kpr 2024.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/kpr_2024_076cbc1d9a.png)

KPR is back with another Finals year end list, and it's full of digitally pulverizing, intermittently beautiful, heart-exploding music.  Shout out to Kieran, an incredible writer who had a banger year [profiling Nettspend](https://i-d.co/article/nettspend-debut-album-profile-interview-2024/) and getting added to P4k as contributing writer under the exciting new era of Mano. Onwards and upwards KPR!

-Andrew

--

The zoomers had fun with breakbeats, now they’re descending deeper, venturing into the zone of beats so hard and fast they’ll mash your brain to blissed-out pulp. Even more agitated, abrasive, and addictive, a new wave of viral electronica is reviving hardcore electronic strands like jumpstyle, hardstyle, and gabber. Much of it sounds cursed, like a laptop vomited it out in a malfunctioning fit. But there’s also unexpectedly angelic tunes with sweet samples and Auto-Tuned vocals. Ballistic kicks have infested everything from emo digicore and “indie sleaze” to sigilkore and movie soundtracks. There’s DSBM with so much juddering jumpstyle chaos it hits more like sonic BDSM. Time to enter the rabid rave abyss.

In descending order:

Degenerescence - "[LASIRENA69](https://showmeariverrecords.bandcamp.com/track/lasirena69)"

dj trippie flameboy - "[seXXXkapkan](https://soundcloud.com/djtrippieflameboy/sexxxkapkan)" / "[b0lit :(](https://soundcloud.com/djtrippieflameboy/b0lit)"

dj weeper - "[JUMPRZ ANONYMOUZ INTERLUDE](https://soundcloud.com/mc-c-ch-nh/jumprz-anonymouz-interlude)"

glixkz, kugakrewceo, woosubi, xoarwhy - "[набрали кондиции в моменте prod. kunkk6](https://soundcloud.com/salmiakkiplaya/nabrali)"

lagoyo - “[300](https://soundcloud.com/lagoyo/300a1)”

glaive - “[Even When the Sun Is Dead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9iJFXpS1qo)”

*Challengers* Soundtrack, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross & Boys Noize - “[Compress / Repress](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bubKYV72-Ng)”

Dayerteq - "[Лапидарностъ 2](https://soundcloud.com/dayerteqq/lapidarnost-2)"

voidvoice717 - "[умираю prod. Dj fullcola666](https://soundcloud.com/voidvoiceforever/umirayu)"

SAIBOTAJE - "[SCHIZOPHRENIA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xILtIjkPwLw)"

zatru - "[sick fukc](https://soundcloud.com/zatru/sick-fuck-prod-zatru)"

rainsdeaf - “[JKAYBITCHHHH](https://soundcloud.com/rainsdeaf/jkaybitchhhhh)”

ilyhiryu - “[econ_yalu2008](https://soundcloud.com/hiryu/econ_yalu2008)”

 hearteyesL - [*EP 2: egl/bjd*](https://soundcloud.com/heart-eyes-laboratory/ep-2-eglbjd)

kuru - “[if you can’t change i won’t either](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoOyOJCHJmY)”

Starcatcher - "[Jumpstyle 444](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxGp0oT57Y0)"

2hollis - “[crush](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWQNWbRiC6I)” / “[gold](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X2TE2tjIf8)”

vyrval - "[*✻H+3+ЯД✻*7luCJIo0T6...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0gfSl0tTIY)"

Kieran Press-Reynolds' Brain-Mashing, Body-Bashing Best of 2024 (Jumpstyle, hardstyle, gabber)

![ali 2024.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/ali_2024_646b664db0.png)

She's back! The people's curator Ali Rosa-Salas with a little elite blogging. Thank you Ali!

-Andrew

-- 

When dance and music elevate each other, my spirit feels at peace. This year, I consistently returned to these three videos—inspired by the movement, sounds, and communities that make them so special.

Here it is—Ali’s version of an “end-of-year” list for my favorite dance videos of 2024 that feature incredible music. Shared with you in no particular order, because they’re all my favorites!

**Diane Nardone, John “Boots” Mersier, Bobby Ossias, and Paul Pellicoro at the World Disco Classic, 1999**

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g6wAqww38tg?si=wbUtlUGP_FOBds4Z" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This particular video is one of my all-time favorites on the internet. It was recorded at a jam during the 1999 World Disco Classic, a hustle dance competition and convention. The video highlights some of the elements I cherish most about New York hustle culture at the turn of the century: Diane Nardone, the dancer in the white dress, is one of the most spectacular improvisors I have ever witnessed. Her movement is so grounded and intuitive that it looks like breathing. Then there’s the song that starts at the 1:00 mark: Deborah Cox’s 1995 track “[Sentimental (Uptempo Mix)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9smDvF_-6k),” produced by Dallas Austin. The 1990s were a time when remix albums were still a significant part of hip-hop and R&B’s distribution cycle, which made for a lot of house remixes perfect for hustle. For some reason, the Uptempo Mix isn’t included in Cox’s expanded *Sentimental* album, and I finally tracked it down this year (I felt really smart when I Shazamed the song from my Apple Watch while watching the jam on my computer).

New York hustle is a dance form that is so close to my soul. I love it for many reasons: as an improvised social dance, it requires you to embrace a beginner’s mindset--it's akin to studying a language. For the nearly four minutes that “Sentimental” plays, each dancer adds an element to the conversation that amplifies their unique voice. I also love that in hustle, partnering is gender agnostic--everyone leads and follows. To top it all off, John “Boots” lives up to his name and turns effortlessly in work boots! The improvisational nature of hustle feels as close to magic as humans will get. 

**Academy of Hawaiian Arts’ Wāhine Kahiko Performance at the Merrie Monarch Festival, 2024**

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v4fN4XKYg7E?si=vG3IHy0UrGqVpico" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Often called the “Super Bowl of Hula,” the Merrie Monarch Festival is the most prestigious hula competition in the world. Held annually in Hilo, Hawaii, the festival brings together *halaus* (hula conservatories) from across Hawaii and the United States to compete in two styles of hula: *hula kahiko* and *hula ʻauana*. *Hula kahiko* is considered the traditional form, featuring percussion instruments and *mele* (chants), while *hula ʻauana* incorporates Western instruments like ukuleles and guitars.

*Hula kahiko* is my favorite because of its percussive power and its rhythmic complexity. During the Academy of Hawaiian Arts' 2024 kahiko presentation, they shared *He Inoa Ahi No Kalākaua*, a fire *mele* composed by David Malo to honor the Hawaiian King Kalākaua. Watching the live stream in the middle of the night from my apartment in Brooklyn, I was mesmerized by how the dancers simultaneously maneuvered the *kālaʻau* (wooden poles) and the *papa hehi* (wooden footboards) to create a collective embodied sound.


**Famous Biggs and friends dancing to an unidentified Cash Cobain track, 2024**

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4jYCmmSu-gU?si=80drPgU4FWfoqAe-" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

If anyone has had a great year, it’s certainly been Cash Cobain. One of the aspects I cherish most about our current era of New York City rap is how dance has been so lovingly embraced, especially by Drill artists. Cash’s “sexy drill” has inspired a playful and flirtatious movement language such as Reem’s [Reemski](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4drLMYLKfN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D) dance, offering levity to an otherwise sturdy-dominated vocabulary.

I recently came across an Instagram post by content creator and dancer [Famous Biggs](https://www.tiktok.com/@famousbiggs?lang=en). The video has the humid glow of a New York City summer night when you’re hanging out with friends way too late, passing around the aux. Surrounded by an affirming circle, Famous Biggs marches around to the beat, clearing his path by sweeping his arms out in front of him. Others soon join in (Reem included!) tenderly tapping their chests to the beat of the track. One dude even makes a heart over his chest with his fingers.

The track playing in the video is undeniably produced by Cash, but I couldn’t find it anywhere online. People in the comments demanded a track ID, to no avail! The only clue that brought me a centimeter closer to identifying it was the sample: Gerry Woo’s 1988 song “[Hey There Lonely Girl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOvAR8QMJ94)”, which is a cover of Eddie Holman’s 1969 “[Hey There Lonely Girl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tSpZnVnSLQ)”. Usher also recently sampled Woo’s version on his 2024 track “[Please U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hnn0S7e1WI)”.

At the very least, TikTok satisfied my curiosity about the dance's name. To my delight, I learned that it’s called the “heartbeat dance.” I love how a party can create space for tenderness among friends. We need more of that—now and always!

*Ali Rosa-Salas* is a curator who is devoted to the living arts and New York City [@prdiva09](https://www.instagram.com/prdiva09/?hl=en)



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Best Music 2024: kimdollars1 On a Huge Year for the Upper West Side

Kieran Press-Reynolds' Brain-Mashing, Body-Bashing Best of 2024 (Jumpstyle, hardstyle, gabber)

Best of 2024: Ali Rosa-Salas' Top 3 Dance Videos