LL Cool J Recording New Album

LL Cool J is stepping into the technology arena with the My Connect Studio, which gives musicians the opportunity to record music with each other from entirely different locations. LL discussed the 'virtual studio' in a recent press conference and revealed that he's using the technology to record his fourteenth studio album.

"[Producers] e-mail me the track, I'm e-mailing vocals - they don't like something, I'm sending it back. We're going back and forth and doing this dance," he explained. "A lot of music is being created that way right now. What I wanted to do is be able to create music in real-time...you may get with a kid from London, you may get with a kid from Paris simply because you went on the site and visited the lobby and met somebody and went into a session and started creating. So this is the next level of music creation."

“I’m going to be doing a little bit of the album on the [My Connect Studio], make sure that it is official,” he said. “And as a matter of fact I started on my album too. It’s authentic Hip Hop, it’s the business...it’s 2012, so it doesn't sound like it would sound if it were 10 years ago or 20 years ago, but it’s definitely official. It’s a breath of fresh air. It doesn't sound like anything that’s out right now. I think it’s crazy. It’s the business. It’s real.”

Chuck D, Black Thought Honor Beasties

The Beastie Boys were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this weekend. Becoming the third hip hop act to take their place among some of the biggest legends in the history of popular music, the Beastie Boys received a fitting tribute from a handful of hip hop superstars.

Black Thought of the Roots, Kid Rock and Gym Class Heroes' Travie McCoy wore classic green-and-white Adidas tracksuits to perform several of MCA, Ad Rock and Mike D's hits, including "No Sleep Til Brooklyn," "So Whatcha Want," and Sabotage. The Roots ?uestlove played the drums for the tribute.

The Beasties were officially inducted by Chuck D and LL Cool J, but MCA was unable to be on-hand for the honor. Mike D and Ad Rock were both in attendance at the ceremony.

LL Cool J Hosting Grammy Event

Rapper/actor LL Cool J will be co-hosting and producing the 54th Annual Grammy Awards pre-show, taking place this November. This will be LL's second year co-hosting "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!" which will also feature country star Jason Aldean and pop megastar Lady Gaga as performers.

The one-hour special will be broadcast from the Nokia Theater L.A. Live.

The special serves to announce the 54th Annual Grammy Award nominees. The special will air on November 11th from 10 to 11pm

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.

LL Cool J's Camp Deny Tranny Rumors

Superstar LL Cool J's name came up when transgendered woman Toni Newman mentioned him and other celebrities, including Eddie Murphy and Mister Cee of Hot 97, that she'd had encounters with. Newman is promoting her book I Rise- The Transformation Of Toni Newman, and mentions these stars in the book.

"I was a street prostitute and LL picked me up, back as a street prostitute walking the block what we called trannie now," she alleged. "There were lots of trannies walking that block, late at night back in the days. That's how we all made our money....that was in the late '90s, so about 13 years ago."

The rapper/actor's manager, Claudine Joseph, told XXL the allegations were "pure comedy."

It should be noted that the Eddie Murphy and Mister Cee both, conveniently for Newman, have made headlines for involvement with transgendered or transvestite prostitutes in the past.