UPDATE:

A representative for Yauch has just released the following statement:

"We at Silva Artist Management are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of our friend and client, Adam Yauch," his managers say. "We ask for your patience and understanding as well as respect for the privacy of Adam's family."

 
Meanwhile, Yauch's mentor and early manager Russell Simmons has also spoken out. "Adam was incredibly sweet and the most sensitive artist who I loved dearly. I was always inspired by his work. He will be missed by all of us."

Adam Yauch, aka MCA of the legendary hip hop group Beastie Boys, has died. The 47-year-old lost his battle with cancer today, RollingStone.com confirms. He was diagnosed with cancer of his parotid gland and lymph nodes in 2009. Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen Wangdu and their daughter Tenzin Losel Yauch. 

Yauch was a founding member of the Beastie Boys, who rose to fame in the 1980s and 90s with such hits as "Brass Monkey," "Sabotage" and "Sure Shot." Yauch directed a number of the Beastie Boys music videos (under the pseudonym Nathaniel Hornblower), as well as their 2006 concert film, Awesome; I F--kin' Shot That!

In 2002, Yauch opened recording studio Oscilloscope Laboratories in New York City. The label branched out to producing and distributing feature films, including Yauch's directorial film debut, basketball documentary Gunnin' For That #1 Spot (2008), as well as breakaway hit Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) and The Messenger (2009).

Oscilloscope underwent a big change yesterday when the company's president and Yauch's long-time partner David Frenkel stepped down from his role. Yauch said of his friend, "Fenkel has been a great collaborator and friend. We will all miss him in his previous role, but I'm glad he will remain a part of O-Scope."

Though the three-time Grammy winner was born to Jewish parents in Brooklyn, Yauch turned to Buddhism in the 2000s and became heavily involved in the Free Tibet Movement, even co-organizing the Tibetan Freedom Concerts of the late nineties.

Cee Lo Green Talks The Voice, Teases Judges Supergroup

The judges' table at a reality competition show can be a bit like a revolving door, but Cee Lo Green says he's sticking with NBC's The Voice.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Cee Lo said he plans to keep enjoying the ride while it lasts.

"I would like to be here as long as it's fresh and new and exciting and fun for me," he said, acknowledging that artists have tended to come and go on similar shows in the past.

"I would like to think that we were irreplaceable, you know what I'm saying? But the truth of the matter is, we're still working-class artists and artists can be very fickle," he said.

The Voice has been a hit for NBC and is frequently one of the network's top-rated shows. In addition to Cee Lo, other judges include Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton.

Since joining the show, the star hosts have made a habit of collaborating off-camera — Aguilera appears on the hit Maroon 5 single "Moves Like Jagger" and has reportedly recorded a track with Cee Lo as well. Green said he also has a duet in mind with the show's country star Shelton.

"And I have a song for Blake Shelton that I gave to him. And I'd like to do it alongside him. I'd like for it to be a duet," he said.

The "Forget You" singer even teased the possibility of a supergroup consisting of the four of them.

"Why not, man? Why not? Everybody's talented. Everybody's available and highly enthusiastic," Cee Lo said. "I think everybody would be up for it, man, because it's a great idea."

Black Unemployment Rate Dropped One Point in April

At 13 percent, down one point from 14 percent in March, the African-American unemployment rate showed the biggest improvement in April, Friday’s job report from the U.S. Labor Department showed. The national unemployment rate declined only slightly from 8.2 to 8.1 percent.

The Labor Department also reported on Thursday that weekly unemployment benefit applications fell by 27,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 365,000, which implies fewer layoffs and enough new hiring to lower the unemployment rate. However, the economy added just 115,000 jobs in April, which was far lower than the 150,000 to 175,000 that Georgia Tech economist Thomas Boston told BET.com that many economists predicted before the numbers came out.

The unemployment and the economy are the two issues on which President Obama is most vulnerable and the sluggish report provided fodder for Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney, Obama’s likely foe this fall. Romney and other Republicans said the numbers were disappointing and that the unemployment rate went down only because more people have given up looking for work.

"It's a terrible and very disappointing report this morning. Clearly the American people are wondering why this recovery isn't happening faster, what's taking years and years for the recovery to occur. And we seem to be slowing down, not speeding up. This is not progress," Romney said in an interview on Fox News.

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, who also slammed the report, said in a statement that Obama’s “desperate hype-and-blame campaign will try to spin today's anemic jobs report six ways to Sunday, but the facts remain clear: too many Americans have been unemployed for far too long. For millions, the economy is simply not working."

 

Rihanna to Create Her First Men’s Fragrance

Rihanna’s whipping up a new scent just for men following the success of her debut fragrance, Reb’l Fleur, and follow-up women's perfume, Rebelle.

“I am making my own male fragrance,” she revealed to Access Hollywood this week. “I want dudes to smell like [when] you wake up, you know that smell…their cologne is a little bit old…you spray it on their jackets and take it with you just to keep them there. It smells cozy and it smells sexy.”

For the 24-year-old pop star, a man’s scent is just as important as, if not more than, his looks. “If I see you and look good, chances are you won’t turn my head. I will look away…but if you smell good, I will whip my neck around! [A guy] can’t leave until I figure out what [he’s] wearing.”

Surely there are a whole lot of men out there who wouldn't mind being used for a little background research, but fellas, would you actually buy cologne from Rih Rih? Sound off in our comments!