This is the first album review I’ve written for WOHM where I’ve actually had extended time with an album. Usually I listen to the album 3-5 times scribbling notes along the way. Not this time, I’ve been listening to My, How Time Flies I all of February. Those “this could be Album of the Year” comments are corny because well it’s still very early and also you’re an asshole. But this could be AOTY, y’all.
My How Time Flies I is the collaboration between Portland rapper Lucas Dix and Portland producer and musician Brass Clouds.
It’s hard to tell you how excited I am about this project without sounding like a stan or working for Lucas Dix/Brass Clouds, but My, How Time Flies I is really, really good. Lucas Dix and his friends on the rhymes and Brass Clouds on the beats. Brass Clouds’ work is obviously great and his output borderlines on abstract, visionary and leans towards prolific.
Sometimes it feels like Lucas is trying too hard and providing too many details about shit I don’t really care about. Sometimes I just want him to talk his shit and stop trying to be ultra-poetic.
Lucas Dix reminds me of a time when a mental divide between poetry and rap did not exist. The ideas this guy brings forth are original, and the canvas is always blank and he does something new with it every time he speaks.
The thing I like the most about Dix’s style, I think, is that when he tells you a story, he gives you the image and gives you a world. It’s almost like you are there with him, not just listening to him tell you about it. He brings you into the world he’s created with his words.
I didn’t enjoy the beat on “Stink in my Yuck” but aside from that Brass Clouds slays everything on My, How Time Flies I. The entire track is only 1:43, and the drums don’t bang like they always should. Aside from that, I don’t know how many instruments that guy plays, or what his process is; but it works and it’s dope.
When I listen to the first track, and Dix begins “Yea, we are what we’re not/but we aren’t what we got,” I immediately begin thinking about my life and what I’m doing with it a bit deeper than I would ever like to. It makes me uncomfortable to think in that fashion, but I also like to go to that edge sometimes. Even if you’re not ready to, Lucas Dix is going to get your mind churning and ready to ask some important questions.
All in all, this is a solid release. At only 8 tracks, you’ll want more but there’s good news, folks! This is My, How Time Flies I. Part II drops in May, Part III in August, and Part IV in November. All four EPs, when combined, equal the complete project. This is music to my ears, and my only question is what’s next for these gents? These doods are dope, brilliant and challenging. Go get this and try to tell me I’m wrong, I double dog dare you!