Good Day, Good Evening, and Good Morning, Citizens of 20XX,
I had no idea how hard it was to put together a collection of ideas into a weekly wrapped newsletter until I started working on this one. Last week ended up being a miss, but I’m not about to let this one go. You know what I haven’t done yet? Gone to sleep. It’s 1:38AM as I write this final bit, so Tuesday’s going to have to hold off a little longer.
In wanting to cover independent media, RF20XX tends to look at a full spread in order to capture its mission; Music, Games, Film, Culture, Books, and whatever else comes our way we find fascinating. Taken together, a guide is formed, giving light to the spaces bigger outlets might miss.
It feels incredibly gratifying to be back covering and writing about the multitude of loves found through this platform. Like the breaking of a long fever, we’re up and wondering what was missed, having gained each sense back. In short, there’s as much behind us as there is in front, but soon, working with other entities in Charlotte as well as outside our borders, we’ll do a better job of constantly capturing the moments. Till then, it’ll be a blast regaining the old journalistic muscles.
This Week’s Charlotte Event Highlight
Phaze Gawd, one of Charlotte’s most prominent voices in this generation’s hip-hop artists, has never been one to sit on his hands. When he’s not working on honing his lyrical & vocal crafts or writing his upcoming album, Phaze is focused on making a place for other creatives to follow in his and other artists’ footsteps. One way is with his CLT platform, F.A.X.A. (For Artist By Artists), which on top of other projects puts on a weekly open mic at Common Market Southend on Thursdays starting at 6pm, dubbed R.A.R.E. (Real Artists, Real Entertainment).
Another activity that Phaze has been up to in the past year has been his Creative’s Crown podcast, where together with a featured guest of the week, all from the many parts of Charlotte’s community that participate in its culture. On September 19th, Phaze Gawd will be putting on a celebratory cap on his first season of the podcast over at the VAPA Center, bringing back speakers from throughout the season like Matt Olin (Creative Mornings/Charlotte In Creative), FLLS (Producer/Artist), Lindsey Nicole (Muralist), and Ryan Pitkin (Queen City Nerve).
The event promises to not only be a community-wide conversation, but also a great networking opportunity as well. Guests can meet with the speakers and gain a little inspiration for their journeys, all while artists from the Queen City take the stage to display some of what the music community has to offer, including De’Angelo Dia, FLLS, Joe Sig, Phaze Gawd, DJ Ron Styles, and more.
The entry fee for the event is donation-based, suggested at $10, all of which will go toward improving the Creative’s Crown Podcast as it goes into Season 2 (already in production).
Event: The Creative’s Crown Live Talk Show: A Celebration of Season 1
Date: September 19th, 2026
Venue: The VAPA Center – 700 N. Tryon St, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
Time: Doors ~ 5:30pm | Start ~ 6pm
Entry Fee: $10 (Suggested Donation)
On The Headphones ~ This Week’s
RF20XX Music Spotlights
We’ve officially hit the first two-week change-over into the next set of artists that are destined for the RF20XX Front Page!
One habit we used to have on a weekly basis is to pick a place on a map (I have several), plug the spot into Bandcamp’s engine, and see where it takes us. This week, that place was Spokane, Washington, and two of the stand-outs were Opaquis and macroplastics.
Charlotte always shines brightly in our searches, and this week was no exception; From Hip-Hop to Pop, and a few mixed genres in between, S.W.I.F.T, DJ WIZdom, Marissa Missing, and Tommy Flanagan are here to represent the Queen City.
Our last three hail from individual spots on the globe, and all three have something special to share. We’ve gotta give it up to Mike Digi for enlightening us to NAHreally, appearing at the August edition of Digital Graffiti, one of Charlotte’s monthly hip-hop showcases centralized in Uptown’s Gallery House. For the third single off their upcoming album, Dandy Variances, Shameless Promotions PR introduced us to ECCE SHNAK‘s “Anna O”. Last, but certainly not least, France’s Solar Project has a placement for their track, “La Parapluie”, on the collaboration album Fête Française, collected by Putumayo. Each track was worth a listen, but one must win out for the spot. That said, please go check out the rest of the artists on the album.
Opaquis
(Spokane, WA)
The Call (EP/Album)
S.W.I.F.T & DJ WIZdom (Charlotte, NC)
W.O.L.F. (Single)
Solar Project
(Nantes, France)
La Parapluie (Single)
Marissa Missing (Charlotte, NC) Blocked! (Single)
ECCE SHNAK (New York, NY)
Anna O (Single)
NAHreally (Jersey City, NJ)
EXTRA CHEESE (Album)
macroplastics (Spokane, WA)
Macroplastics (Demo)
Tommy Flanagan (Charlotte, NC)
Lost In Translation (EP)
One last shout for the last line-up of artists that we were honored to celebrate for the last two weeks! Each was sampled into a collective Reel on IG. Give it a listen and check out what you might have missed! Guaranteed, there are more than a few that you’ll hear from again soon;
Indie Games Spotlight
In the distant future world of 2045’s Pittsburgh, life in an ecosocialist utopia seems to be a paradise in the making. The only problem? You, a grumpy old-timer, absolutely hate everything about living in it. In Future? No Thanks!, an narrative-driven open world adventure game, standing between you and your (100% tax funded) euthanasia appointment is a bucket list of sorts. To get approved, you’ll be challenged to interact with the city residents, find ancient treasures (like a can of Cola), and explore the remnants of the not-too distant past.
Developer Molleindustria had their game featured most recently at this year’s Gamescom conference in Cologne, Germany. The game is out now on Steam, and curious players can try a timed 30-minute demo of the FULL GAME.
Love it or hate it, the future is now. See what’s in store today!
Indie Film News
What does September mean to the independent arts? Locally in Charlotte, the annual Charlotte Film Festival would be a notable answer. Projects both native to the Queen City and from all over the world will soon grace the screens at the Independent Picture House, ranging from animation shorts to documentaries and narrative features.
This year, 20XX will hopefully be able to do coverage of the festival picks, and if that can be achieved, I can’t wait to share those visions here with you. In either case, from September 22nd to the 27th, all of the ensuing activity will be here in East Charlotte, so we hope you too can make it out!
Tickets are on sale NOW!!!!!
With Week #2 in the bag, it’s time to turn and see how we can improve in Week #3’s offerings. Looking forward to it, and everything RF20XX does only gets better from here.
We’ll see you this week in the blogspace! Stay tuned for more, all in the year of 20XX. ~
With love, thanks, & sincerity,
– Jonny G.
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Entertainment + Culture Coverage of Independent Media from CLT & Beyond 
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