If there's one thing New York native Black Rob has in quantity, it's confidence. And why not? Signed to Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Entertainment, his first high-profile rhymes came in the label's 1997 heyday alongside Puffy and The LOX on Mase's "24 Hours To Live," not to mention his featured track "I Love You Baby" on Puff Daddy & The Family's "No Way Out." Now, even as the label's sun shines not quite as brightly as it once had, Black Rob is considered by many to be the jewel of hard credibility in Bad Boy's crown.

Hip-hop fans seemed to agree when Rob's long-delayed debut full-length, "Life Story," hit stores. The LP sold 177,000 copies in its first week of release, landing it at number three on the "Billboard" 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, while the MC's single "Whoa!" continues to burn it up everywhere. It looks like Black Rob could single-handedly pull Bad Boy back into the front rank of rap labels; MTV.com's review of the album even opined that the disc was "the first real rap album released on Bad Boy since Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Life After Death.'"

The man spoke recently with MTV News' John Gill, and it's immediately clear that whether he's talking about his time spent in jail following a robbery conviction in New York City, or the less-than-loving relationship he has with his family, or the pride he feels in his own success, Black Rob doesn't pull many punches. He's got a story to tell, and he's ready and willing to share it with everyone.

Listen up.