Tyler, the Creator scrolled his phone.

The rapper of the moment, asked to name some artists “you want more people to know about,” paused before shouting out Baltimore native Marcus Brown.

“Nourished by Time, that dude’s cool,” Tyler, who headlined CFG Bank Arena in July, told Apple Music host Zane Lowe.

Brown, 30, should get used to this kind of attention. The artist known as Nourished by Time has been a celebrated indie darling since his 2023 debut (“Erotic Probiotic 2”) and 2024’s “Catching Chickens” EP.

Now, his sophomore album — “The Passionate Ones,” released Aug. 22 — is Brown’s most fully realized project to date, showcasing his growing confidence as both a vivid lyricist and an imaginative producer. His pop-minded music, at turns hazy and kaleidoscopic, is difficult to define and a winning combination, as evidenced by glowing reviews.

Brown wasn’t available for an interview, per his label XL Recordings, because he’s focused on tour preparation, including building his own in-ear monitors system. So ahead of Thursday’s nearly sold-out Ottobar concert, here’s a Nourished by Time primer through videos, songs and other material.

‘Baby Baby’

A standout from Brown’s self-produced new album, “Baby Baby” is a proper introduction to Nourished by Time’s hypnotic brand of R&B pop, where the beats are as lush and danceable as the lyrics are sobering.

“The evidence was haunting, the world kept revolving / If you can bomb Palestine, you can bomb Mondawmin,” he sings over the dreamy, skittering track.

Brown, who attended Berklee College of Music, clearly loves music. “The Passionates Ones” — including highlights like “Baby Baby,” “9 2 5” and “Max Potential” — blends his many affinities: Anthemic Prince, soul, new jack swing, sugary ’90s pop, lo-fi indie-rock. Brown has called Nourished by Time “post R&B” and it’s not hard to hear why.

‘Daddy’ live

Brown recently moved to New York, but Baltimore is home. It’s also where he recorded “Erotic Probiotic 2” in his parents’ basement. The nine-track record quickly cemented Brown as a rising artist to watch, earning spots on numerous critics’ best albums of the year lists in 2023.

This live performance of “Daddy” shows both Brown’s comfort as a bedroom-pop singer-songwriter and the pop sensibilities that might one day deliver him to the masses.

‘Hell of a Ride’ on ‘Colbert’

Before his first headlining tour in June 2024, Brown introduced himself to a national audience, performing “Hell of a Ride” on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Brown, playing a shimmery synthesizer alongside a live bassist, sings goodbye: “To the red, the blue and even the white / I don’t know why, I guess it never felt like mine.”

The Lot Radio DJ set

Part of Nourished by Time’s appeal is how unpredictably but seamlessly Brown blends his many influences to create something novel. To pull off music like this, great taste is a prerequisite. And, for nearly an hour, Brown’s is on display here during an April 2023 DJ set for The Lot Radio.

DJ sets are often valuable windows into an artist’s perspective, and Brown’s was unsurprisingly eclectic: Lou Reed, mixtape-era Lil Wayne, Chaka Khan, Evans Pyramid and more.

Additional reading

Don’t just take my word for it. Those susceptible to fawning music press are in luck: Nourished by Time, once again, is getting rave reviews. “The Passionate Ones” earned Brown his second “Best New Music” distinction from Pitchfork, while culture writer Doreen St. Félix offered her own praise in the latest issue of The New Yorker.

“It’s got that fever, this album, the American tears-on-the-dance-floor, we-gon’-make-it energy,” she wrote.

St. Félix could be describing Rod Lee’s 2006 Baltimore club classic “Dance My Pain Away,” a fitting link between the city’s recent, formative past to its bright future.