Nourished by Time – Erotic Probiotic 2

Easily our favorite rising star of 2023, Baltimore-born singer-songwriter Marcus Brown aka Nourished by Time was raised on hip-hop, jazz, ’90s R&B, and attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music at 17, but didn’t get much from it. “I didn’t know how to write music the way that I wanted to,” Brown says. “I went to school for music, but I hated it.” Brown’s first full-length, Erotic Probiotic 2, follows a string of promising but somewhat raw-sounding EP’s; it feels like a leap forward for the young artist. The songwriting, in particular, speaks well-beyond Brown’s years with lyrics that are both emotionally hard-hitting and undeniably catchy. “Quantum Suicide” cruises along a boom bap beat with Brown crooning about death and the afterlife, “My heart and soul may be colliding (Colliding) / In the next life there’ll be better timing.” “The Fields” reflects on capitalism and Christianity, “Once or twice I prayed to Jesus / Never heard a word back in plain English / More like signs or advertisements / Telling me to keep consumerizing.”

Recommended – Full Listen