FINALS.BLOG (2020-present) presents “Rumored To Be Among The Best” by Finals + Friends, a compilation of original exclusives by friends of the blog, out June 5, 2025. The single is out now on bandcamp, soundcloud and YouTube, "Pretty Boy In Spring Colors" by Stas THEE Boss.

Curated by Finals, the comp is 11 tracks of unique/elite music from the American underground.

Thank you to the artists for the music. Thank you Suspence for the idea. And thank you Suspence and Gabe Weisbuch for the cover art.

Questions or comments? Hit [email protected]

Liner notes:

Suspence - BEAT 19

Longtime Seattle-based DJ and producer Suspence came up with the name “Finals,” and contributed half our 2020 mag which we dropped when the blog launched. While musically active in PNW clubs and in rap groups for decades, he has recorded only one (1) mix, a masterful edition of KEXP’s Midnight in a Perfect World, and has almost no solo music out.

Khris P - HUNNA ROUND prod Gary

Originally from St. Louis and now living in Tacoma, WA, Khris P first came to my attention as a producer and rapper in the now broken-up Tacoma group ILLFIGHTYOU in the early 2010s. Lately he has been focused on rapping. I produced an EP with Khris and his IFY bandmate, Glenn, in 2022, called GIMME INDIE ROCK, and since then, Khris has been crazy prolific, dropping six albums largely produced by a local enigma known only as Gary.

Stas THEE Boss - Pretty Boy In Spring Colors

Stasia Irons does it all. She’s a producer, rapper, singer, organizer, writer, recently a movie scorer (dream hampton’s It Was All a Dream), and an all-time performer going back to the mid-2000s. Currently based in Portland, OR, you might know her from her involvement in the Black Constellation crew, her DJ collective Sway & Swoon, her party Latifah, or from the now defunct group THEESatisfaction.

10.4 Rog - grownups

Hailing from Renton, WA, and now located in Los Angeles, the producer, multi instrumentalist, and video director 10.4 Rog has built a cult following for his Dilla-esque rap and R&B production, differentiating himself from everyone else in that lane with his superior feel, and skills as a piano player.

Laron - dance dance!

Brooklyn producer Laron is mind-blowingly good at a full range of styles, with a discography including albums with very different MCs Jay Critch and Jadasea, credits on projects by MIKE and maassai, and beat tapes that call to mind the experimentalism of artists like Madlib, and Laron’s close friend and collaborator Tony Seltzer.

zayALLCAPS - popshuvit!

Producer, rapper, singer, and indie label entrepreneur zayALLCAPS makes songs about love, anxiety, manic episodes, being validated by the homies, and striving for excellence, from his adopted hometown of LA. We love the Sacramento area native’s creative chord progressions, camouflaged samples, distinct “newstalgia,” and writing from the heart.

Tomu DJ and YoungLove Erix - no service (demo)

The Bay Area’s own Tomu DJ produces all types of music for the club or the headphone, both solo and with other producers (like kimdollars1), as well as with vocalists who might talk or rap on the track (like YoungLove Erix). She also makes sublime R&B club edits, organizes the West Oakland Music Festival, and is an adventurous DJ in an open-format style, sometimes with a reckless disregard for what’s deemed cool or tasteful. She makes that shit work.

kimdollars1 - the ecstasy of communication

After Finals interviewed West Manhattan born, Austin, TX based producer kimdollars1 aka DJ kimila a few years ago, she started writing and contributing DJ mixes to the Finals universe, flexing her deep knowledge of rap, and gaining skills as an interviewer. We are grateful to publish her work and remain massive fans of her beats and mixes.

Dear Nora - sinaloan restaurant (Finals remix)

Dear Nora, the morphing solo and group project led by songwriter, guitarist, and singer Katy Davidson, perfected PNW indie rock around the turn of the millennium. Now splitting time between the California desert and Brooklyn, their guitar music has grown more elegant, and more gently transportive.

fish narc and Winston Hightower - odd save - snip

fish narc is a living bridge between 2010s DIY spaces and soundcloud rap, whose musical arc has gone from hyper-aware PNW rock to producing for Lil Peep (RIP) and now back again to his roots as a guitar player, singer, and bandleader. Winston Hightower is his label mate on K Records, aka the label Kurt Cobain had tatted.

Matson - Tele

I made this short instrumental with my Telecaster during the height of COVID quarantine times, which is when we launched Finals. Listening back reminds me that end times can also be beginning times, and especially when we are scared about the future it can be therapeutic to sit down and try to calm yourself by creating something. I am struck by how this song reflects none of the stress and anxiety that overwhelmed me when I made it.