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An Interview with CJ808 and QU!$7 of 2K3

![BESTOF2021.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/BESTOF_2021_e92944490e.png)

I first met Nabil in Seattle in the early 2000’s. He would let me drop off Vice mags and other street promo shrapnel at his record store, [Sonic Boom](https://www.sonicboomrecords.com/). He was always really chill and gracious with that million dollar smile of his. Flash forward to 2021 and he’s a bona fide music and literary super soaker. Not only does he runs legendary record label [4AD](https://4ad.com/) in the states, not to mention his own label [The Control Group](https://www.controlgroupco.com/), he also writes thoughtful and engrossing pieces for P4K, NYT, GQ, Rollin Stone, Food & Wine, etc. Stop scrolling for an hour and do yourself a favor - [read everything on his page now](https://www.nabilayers.com/). Oh and btw, his dad is a [gawd](http://www.royayers.net/), his uncle is a [holy spirit](https://www.alanbraufman.com/), which makes him the jesus of [Brooklyn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW9wJsVVCdA), the place where he dwell. His [memoir](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/651853/my-life-in-the-sunshine-by-nabil-ayers/) is going to drop in 2022 so cop cop cop. I asked Nabizzle what music he bumped this past year and he sent over this sick playlist of progressive indie type shit. FW IT!

<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5SXNGrHAZxFiTWF6sGRO82?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="380" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe>

Nabil Ayers's Top 10 Songs of 2021

![BESTOF2021.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/BESTOF_2021_e92944490e.png)

LFG!!!!

![kiko.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/kiko_9310958892.jpg)

**Shoe**<br>
Kiko boots<br>
Despite me calling it early that the Kiko ASICS UB2-S Gel 1130 sneakers were the shoe of the year, it is actually another Kiko shoe that holds that title and that shoe is the Kiko Jethra boot in “dragonfly” teal. This amazing shoe features what I’ve been calling a suicide doors enclosure system, which looks truly crazy but also sleek and functional, and alone justifies its top position. The Jethra also appeals to me as a native Seattle person: colors and shapes recall the classic freshwater Griffeys and Air Zoom GP mids. While belonging to the sneaker boot category established by Nike ACG and New Balance, Kiko’s Jethra is doing its own thing as an unrepentant fashion shoe that also deserves to be a daily driver, providing ankle support, beauty, ruggedness, and design for days.

<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/641975534?h=73c70dbea8" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

**Brand**<br>
18 East<br>
This year designer Antonio Ciongoli nostalgia tripped himself back to the glory days of late ‘90s technical skateboarding, with the early fall drop “STRICTLY ROOTS” paying homage to underground hip-hop flavor and athletics-inspired design. An eBay hound, Ciongoli basically created versions of vintage stuff fans of that time period would be looking for but couldn’t find. This pick for me is extremely subjective: Ciongoli’s enthusiasm for the micro era exactly matches up to my own, as a person who grew up wearing Alphanumeric and listening to Soundbombing II.

![birk.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/birk_960fff1a9c.jpg)

**Trend**<br>
Peak Boston<br>
It’s always fun but also annoying to see one of your absolute closet staples become trendy. At one point this year I was one of three guys on my block wearing Bostons at the same time. It’s one of my favorite shoes ever but we have gone too far. Consider a Birki or a London for 2022.

![logo-white_2x.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/logo_white_2x_e2dfd944ea.png)

**Store**<br>
[Antithesis](https://antithesis-store.com/)<br>
Coolest and most pared down offering in NY. 4SDesigns, Acronym, and Cav Empt? Yes yes and yes. Post-streetwear, techwear, and streetwear proper.

![tashjian.jpg](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/tashjian_c9e4298b98.jpg)

**Article**<br>
[Rachel Tashjian's New American Sportswear piece for GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/the-new-american-sportswear)<br>
She really saw the landscape and wrote it, better and smarter than anyone else. American fashion is not a misnomer, it’s just casual and wearable and now is its big moment in our lifetime, at least in menswear. Wrapping up Todd Snyder to ALD is no mean feat but Rachel did it and connected the dots in a way that was true and real. This is the rare “we are living in a time” article that shows no favoritism or boostery energy but just puts down history in the present.

Finals Fashion Awards 2021

![BESTOF2021.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/BESTOF_2021_e92944490e.png)

The gawd Hua Hsu's top 10 includes Texas rider music, New York drill, Korean shoegaze, a Paul Institute loosie and a lightly freestyle-inspired track by Anz that I can't get enough of. It's also a top 11, a violation of the rules which Stephanie Clary is also guilty of but WHICH WE WILL ALLOW. Taken together it's a rappy, groovy, and various collection from one of the most essential writers writing. First thing you do when you get a new New Yorker in the mail is see if he wrote anything in it, and you read that first. Press play and get familiar, and check [my Spotify profile](https://open.spotify.com/user/andrewmatson?si=142d0ae3891a4f4a) for all our lists so far. 

<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3jTDH8xjR6QrGLlVMkUlER?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="380" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe>

Hua Hsu's Top 10 Songs of 2021

![BESTOF2021.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/BESTOF_2021_e92944490e.png)

Aramis Johnson is the leader of one of the coolest grassroots rock stories of 2021, the fast-rising band [Enumclaw](https://enumclaw6.bandcamp.com/album/jimbo-demo). He also has a past life as an ear-to-the-ground rap  promoter in Tacoma, WA, with the collective Toe Jam. So it makes sense that his top 10 mixes those worlds, mostly composed of the type of modern indie rock that he's associated with now, with a dash of what I'll call "cool blog music," and a sprinkling of hot local rap from the Pacific Northwest. Dive in, and find out! 

<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/62SVgZ6zWufqAJLv1kqhku?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="380" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe>

Aramis Johnson's Top 10 Songs of 2021

![BESTOF2021.png](https://finals.blog/api/uploads/BESTOF_2021_e92944490e.png)

Shout out to the LOML, journalism legend Stephanie Clary, who submitted a conventions-defying Top 10 songs of 2021 list that changed the way I thought about the year. Her list is a) 11 songs and b) contains one that came out in 2020. I wouldn't have it any other way, though. Because what I really want from [these lists](https://open.spotify.com/user/andrewmatson?si=0b481df806a8442a) is to get into the "headspace" (Succession word) of our contributors, whose taste we love and trust. 

Steph's top 10 has a stronger connection to the mainstream than our other lists, which in 2021 I was pretty down on. But she made me reconsider that stance with these sounds, and put me onto people I'd never heard of like Montell Fish, whose song here is very pretty (reminds me of the artist Contour). Also, I'll just say by omitting "Leave the Door Open" from our other lists, we have been fronting like we are cooler than we are. So thanks Steph for the realness, and letting us know where your head's at! 

<iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/3nutzhcTGKNL7RRNKsFL0T?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="380" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture"></iframe> 

Featured Post

An Interview with CJ808 and QU!$7 of 2K3

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Nabil Ayers's Top 10 Songs of 2021

Finals Fashion Awards 2021

Hua Hsu's Top 10 Songs of 2021

Aramis Johnson's Top 10 Songs of 2021

Stephanie Clary's Top 10 Songs of 2021