Lyor Cohen, Coldplay Honor MCA

Tributes continue for fallen Beastie Boys member Adam "MCA" Yauch. The rapper/producer/bassist/director died on May 4th following a three-year battle with cancer. The Beasties were one of the most beloved acts in music, and notables ranging from Lyor Cohen to Coldplay acknowledged Yauch's impact.

Coldplay paid tribute to MCA by performing a cover of the Beasties breakthrough 1986 hit "Fight For Your Right (To Party.)" Cohen, the CEO of Warner Music Group and former executive at Def Jam Records, praised Yauch as a person.

"I think Yauch’s legacy was a person that made a significant impact to pop culture,” said Cohen. "Yauch was a curious guy, he was courageous. Not concerned with what everybody thought. Just pure. Willing to make mistakes." "I just want to make sure I tell everyone how much I love them," he added.

Chris Martin Clowns Jay-Z?

Jay-Z's buddy, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, made light of old statements made by Jay that he and Martin could not have been friends during the rapper's younger years growing up in the Marcy Projects of Brooklyn. Martin says Jigga is just a big ol' teddy bear and he would've never been afraid of Jay.

Now or then...

"He definitely wouldn't have taken my sneakers because mine were always a lot too dirty for him," Martin told XXL jokingly. "I don't know. He wouldn't have touched me then. He's too sweet underneath. I don't believe that from him." "I never even thought I'd make it to America," he continued. "So the chances of us meeting then are slim."

Quad Studios To Reopen

Quad Studios, the legendary recording studio in Manhattan, will reopen its doors this weekend in New York City. An invitation-only event will be held this Friday (October 21) at the facility in Times Square. Quad Studios has been extensively renovated.

Quad Studios is notorious for being the location where legendary rapper 2Pac was shot in late 1994.

Over the course of thirty years, stars like Bob Dylan, Whitney Houston, LL Cool J, Gerald Levert, Rihanna and Coldplay recorded hits at the studio.

Coldplay Taps Rihanna For New Album

Coldplay has become the de facto British rock band of choice for hip hop heads--especially the ladies. The super-popular quartet has announced that a certain Barbadian siren will be featured on their upcoming album, Mylo Xyloto due out later this year.

"We had a song that I’d secretly kind of written to see if Rihanna would want to sing it,” frontman Chris Martin said. “And then the rest of the band wanted to keep it, so we came up with the idea of asking her to sing it with us, and, to our great surprise, she said OK.”

“Well, her bit on our record is my favorite bit … when the song came out, it sort of asked for her to be on it. And I think at this point, we have nothing to lose, and so we’ve been trying some new things and trying to break down the perceived boundaries between different types of music,” Martin explained. “Because from where we’re sitting, it seems like you can try and sound any way you like nowadays. You don’t have to be in a rock box or a hip-hop box or a pop box, and I think it’s fun when you embrace that idea.”

"Tha Carter IV" Bumps "Watch the Throne"

Less than a month after Jay-Z and Kanye West broke the iTunes record for first week sales with their joint album Watch the Throne, fellow rapper Lil Wayne has reached the same plateau with his newly-released Tha Carter IV. And he did it in just four days.

According to reports, Weezy's album has sold more than 300,000 copies since it landed online on August 29th at midnight. Tha Carter IV is now expected to sell anywhere from 925,000 and 975,000 copies, an increase over its earlier estimates of 800,000 copies.

Coldplay had previously set the record, that has now been broken twice in a month, back in 2008 with their album Viva La Vida.

Jay-Z & Kanye West's "Watch The Throne" Breaks iTunes Sales Record

Hov and 'Ye's collaborative album becomes the highest selling digital album in history for first-week sales.

Jay-Z and Kanye West's collaborative album Watch the Throne, which was released exclusively to iTunes last Monday (August 8th), has broken a record for the online store.

According to reports, the LP has become the highest selling album in the store's history for first-week sales, moving about 308,472 copies to break Coldplay's previous record with 2008's Viva La Vida, which sold 155,000 copies.

Upon its release last week, Watch the Throne rocketed to number one in 23 countries worldwide. Final first-week sales, inclusive of digital and physical units, will be reported on Wednesday.

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