Finale

Pushed to try harder by a scene filled with talent, Detroit rapper [wimpLink artistId="3608695"]Finale[/wimpLink] began his career trading rhymes with the likes of [wimpLink artistId="3525630"]Guilty Simpson[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="4368874"]One Be Lo[/wimpLink]. After trading tapes and eventually meeting local legend [wimpLink artistId="3638684"]J Dilla[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="3608695"]Finale[/wimpLink] quit his day job as an automotive engineer and devoted his time to writing, rapping, and promoting. An appearance on [wimpLink artistId="8665289"]B.R. Gunna[/wimpLink]'s 2004 effort [wimpLink albumId="65462785"]Dirty District, Vol. 2[/wimpLink] led to work with respected locals [wimpLink artistId="3643919"]Invincible[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3599933"]Dabrye[/wimpLink], including an appearance on the latter's 2006 Ghostly release, [wimpLink albumId="21681568"]Two/Three[/wimpLink]. The year 2007 saw him collaborate with producer [wimpLink artistId="14500020"]Spier 1200[/wimpLink] for Develop, an album released through the Rawkus imprint Rawkus 50. A year later he would land on [wimpLink artistId="3643919"]Invincible[/wimpLink]'s Shapeshifters album and [wimpLink artistId="3962766"]Vandalyzm[/wimpLink]'s Megatron Majorz mixtape, plus his own single "Don't Sleep," guest starring [wimpLink artistId="3643919"]Invincible[/wimpLink] and producer [wimpLink artistId="16460674"]Black Milk[/wimpLink]. His debut album, [wimpLink albumId="93745784"]Pipe Dream and a Promise[/wimpLink], appeared in 2009 on the Interdependent label. The album was promoted with the online game Super Finale, a clever redo of Super Mario Bros. with [wimpLink artistId="3608695"]Finale[/wimpLink] playing the role of Mario. He then took a break to focus on his wife and their newborn son, but after five years with a regular job he returned to rap and hooked up with producer [wimpLink artistId="3643378"]Oddisee[/wimpLink]. In 2015 the duo released the album [wimpLink albumId="48429716"]Odds & Ends[/wimpLink], with guest spots from [wimpLink artistId="3696470"]Homeboy Sandman[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3874039"]Big Tone[/wimpLink]. ~ David Jeffries