Top 300 Albums of 2025 by The Big Takeover

[Repost from The Big Takeover; by Jack Rabid, January 16, 2026]

#103 Kicking Bird 11 Short Fictions

OUT NOW: Sean Thomas Gerard "Bright Side" [Digital Single]

After five years of growth as a musician and father, Sean Thomas Gerard is back with Stay In Your Light. Gerard, who records in a humble corner of his family's garage that doubles as a playroom for his two daughters, shares “I think about some day when I'm gone, my kids will be able to put on my records and feel like they can spend time with me again” about his music. The artist’s take on the indie-folk sound is refreshing and personal. Stay In Your Light is a comforting symphonic hug that aims to preserve the innocence of those Gerard holds dearest.

The first Digital Single from Stay In Your Light — "Bright Side" — by Sean Thomas Gerard is out today on all digital music platforms.

LISTEN NOW | PRE-ORDER VINYL ALBUM

Top 25 Songs of 2025 by Galaxy Comics

[Repost by Galaxy Comics; January 2, 2026]

#23 Blase "Under the Same Stars"

Meet the rapper who's helped keep hip-hop on Wilmington's music scene

[Repost from StarNews; by John Staton, January 2, 2026]

You'd never know it to see him on stage, when he's rhyming with verbal dexterity and making lyrical connections between subjects as disparate as old TV shows, hip-hop culture and a sports jersey some dude in the crowd is wearing. But one of Wilmington's best-known, longest serving and most prolific rappers is a big introvert.

Super introverted," Fuzz Jackson, aka Fuzz Jaxx, said recently at the house and studio off Oleander Drive he shares with his friend and roommate, Wilmington sound engineer Owen Dollar. "But I get such a high from being on stage. I gotta have it. I gotta have that feeling."

For more than a quarter-century, Jackson's strong, confident voice, pop-culture-literate rhymes and trademark, rapid-fire delivery have been part of Wilmington's musical landscape, both as a solo artist and as a lyricist and rapper with one of Wilmington's most beloved (albeit disbanded) all-time groups, the jazz/hip-hop combo Organix, which drew crowds throughout the 2000s.

Jackson still performs with McClain Sullivan, who sang with Organix, as part of the Fuzz and Mac duo, a neo-soul outfit that pairs Sullivan's golden voice with Jackson's raps.

Commercial and financial success might have eluded him thus far, something Jackson was quick to talk about and brought up during a recent interview. But he achieved artistic success long ago — not to mention the respect of his peers on the Wilmington scene, who regard him as an elder statesman of rap, a rapper's rapper if you will.

Fuzz is cool, a huge inspiration. He's like a big brother, someone to look up to," said Wilmington rapper Sheme of Gold, who recently guested with Jackson on the song "Quadruple-Double" from Wilmington hip-hop group The Third Element. "He was telling us about, like, his record deal and just all these things that he's been through. … I hear all this stuff and I'm just like a kid at story time, I'm sitting crisscross applesauce."

Sheme then added what's probably the most common accolade Jackson gets: "He's a great freestyler." (Freestyling is hip-hop's version of improv, when a rapper takes the mic and delivers fresh material off the top of his head.)

James Tritten of Wilmington's Fort Lowell Records — which released music by Jackson and the hip-hop producer CoolOutSessions in 2024 as part of "This Water Is Life, Vol. IV," an environmentally conscious album series in which Wilmington hip-hop artists share space with indie rockers — took his praise of Jackson a step further.

"Fuzz is the greatest legend ever," Tritten said. "I just hope more people get to understand how amazing he is."

Jackson's story starts in Georgia, where he grew up watching old TV shows and movies with his father and listening to such hip-hop legends as Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Run-DMC and Kurtis Blow.

Georgia is where Jackson started rapping with Shaft, the hip-hop group that brought him to Wilmington in the mid-1990s to play the old Mid-Atlantic Sound, Surf and Skate festival, aka MASSS.

"We were almost signed, then found out the label was broke," Jackson said.

By the late '90s Shaft was no more and Jackson was in Wilmington full-time.

He's seen Wilmington's hip-hop and music scenes go through multiple eras, from rap battles at the long-since-closed bars Bessie's and Oasis to hip-hop nights at 16 Taps (where Bourgie Nights is now) to dozens (if not hundreds) of shows with Organix to the days of camaraderie at the old Soapbox music venue, where hip-hop acts, indie rockers and metal bands would sometimes share the same bill.

Jackson is one of the few Wilmington musicians to have bridged all these eras, and he's opened up for hip-hop legends including Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco and Killer Mike.

Since the pandemic Jackson has rocked the mic at Luna Caffe's Tiny Caffe series on Castle Street and with Sullivan at The Sandspur in Carolina Beach. He's got a show booked Jan. 9 at Tavern Law downtown with his old friend and collaborator DJ Battle.

Jackson has recorded a voluminous amount of material over the years, and one could spend hours exploring his Bandcamp page.

On his latest single, "Champions," an old song off Jackson's "Dusty Rhodes" mixtape remixed by CoolOutSessions, sports references bump up against pop culture as Jackson compares himself to "Kobe in the booth/ Watch me close this out" or calls himself the "Talented Mr. Ripley/ Believe it or not … Bet on black?/ You better bet on Jaxx."

His 2025 single "The City Loves Me," with P-Grant, takes a less braggadocious tone, with Jackson rapping about having "$1.40 in my pocket … The city shows love but it can be heartless."

"Welcome to Hip Hop" from "This Water Is Life, Vol. IV" drops a reference to Jack "Dr. Death" Kevorkian because Jackson's "losing patience … You could live a nightmare/ Trying to chase your dreams."

Jackson said he sees Fuzz Jaxx as his "alter ego," an introvert who becomes an extrovert on stage. "That's Fuzz Jackson," he said. "That's who that guy is."

He said he almost quit music during the pandemic but hearing beats a friend cooked up brought him back.

"I can't see myself doing anything else," Jackson said. "It's like a marriage I got into, and even though sometimes she treats me bad, I stuck around. I'm like the male version of Peg Bundy. I just take it and stick with it because I love it so much."

Fuzz Jaxx

10 Hidden Gems: The Hip Hop Albums Too Many People Overlooked In 2025 by HHGA

[Repost from Hip Hop Golden Age; January 6, 2026]

MindsOne Stages

Stages is a sharp, polished boom-bap record that keeps its focus on craftsmanship. MindsOne delivers intricate lyricism over a diverse lineup of producers, blending thoughtful storytelling with head-nodding beats. KON Sci and Tronic trade bars with precision, moving between introspection and sharp observations about life, ambition, and purpose.

The production lineup is stacked. Marco Polo, Da Beatminerz, Kev Brown, and others contribute beats that range from smooth and soulful to rugged and raw. Tracks like “Blind Fury” and “Off the Handle” hit with hard drums and murky basslines, while “Grateful Heart” and “Liberation / Obligation” bring warmth with jazzy samples and laid-back grooves. Scratches from DJ Iron, DJ Noumenon, and DJ Slim Deluxe give the  album an authentic, turntable-driven energy that ties it all together.

KON Sci and Tronic bring clarity to complex themes without overcomplicating their delivery, making the album engaging from start to finish. Stages is grounded in Hip Hop’s classic traditions while still feeling fresh, proving that sharp lyricism and top-tier production will always have a place.

REVIEW: Tercel “Strange Energy” Tercel (EP)

[Repost from The Reconnoiter; December 26, 2025]

When love feels inevitable but fragile.  The song is about recognizing love as a powerful, almost mystical force, and quietly regretting how easy it is to hesitate when something real is right in front of you.  It’s when timing, fear, and wonder collide.  It’s a fave song from the debut EP by the Wilmington, NC-based band.

20 Best Albums of 2025 by Here Comes the Flood

[Repost by Here Comes the Flood; by Hans Werksman, December 31, 2025]

#4 Blase Somewhere Out There

Wilmington, NC based multi-instrumentalist Blase plays the kind of dreampop that is able to transport listeners to an alternate reality where things are quite beautiful and, as an added bonus, age is not a number, but has come to a standstill. His Somewhere Out There album flows gently and might be mistaken for a long lost record from the golden age of psychedelic pop, when echo and reverb smoothed over the rough edges of real life.

REVIEW: Kicking Bird “Cinnamon” 11 Short Fictions (LP)

[Repost from The Reconnoiter; December 26, 2025]

A fleeting, intoxicating moment where desire, disorientation, and urgency blur together.  The song is about the thrill and fragility of a momentary connection.  It’s intense, sensual, slightly reckless, and defined by the urgency of now rather than the certainty of what comes next.  It’s the first single from the second album by the Wilmington, NC-based band.