Quiet Storm

A Long Time Comin', the debut LP from Cleveland rapper Quiet Storm, leaves you with a stronger urge to hug your momma than to throw down on some haters. The Warrensville Heights grad possesses a maturity largely absent from mainstream hip-hop. He expresses his respect for the ladies with lines like "I ain't one for the game playin'/ That's the reason I bought a PlayStation," on the bubblegum mallrap of "What's Ya Name." The backing music bounces between southern-rap handclap beats and soulful R&B. A positive outlook and a smooth voice mask his average rhyming skills and render the disc's tackier moments more forgivable.