Somewhere on the bridge that leads you from Kanye West to Jay-Z there's a guy named Carlos St. John (that's his real name). Attitude of a dope dealer, mind of a marketing executive, but music is his hustle.

Looking at him you'd expect him to sing you some diddley about some girl he loves. Don't count on it. Unlike most straight-teethed well-dressed rappers you've come to know, the wiles of women hold no sway, only the lure of success.

A kid from a single mother, absentee father and a bad n...