J. Cole, Roc Nation's first signee, is all raw potential at this stage. He has spoken to the streets via high-profile mixtapes that include his own beat production, and his clean-cut playboy rhymes, exhibited in "In the Morning" and "Work Out," are ready for a pop audience. In anticipation of tonight's performance opening for Rihanna, we caught up with Jermaine Cole and discussed a wealth of topics in this week's main music feature.

One aspect that we can expand up on here is his aspiration to become more than just a rapper and handle production for other artists. Even if he's never heard of English garage producer MJ Cole -- we asked -- the well-spoken St. John's University grad has clearly given his future a lot of thought.