Wednesday, August 25, 2010 10:07am ET by  

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Jay-Z would have robbed Coldplay pal

Jay-Z has admitted that even though he's close friends now with Coldplay's Chris Martin, their friendship might have been very different if they had met before each found fame.

The hip-hop mogul, who grew up in the tough Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, said he would have robbed the British rocker if their paths had crossed in the old days.

"That's a different scenario. He couldn't walk through Marcy," explained Jay-Z, as he spoke with British newspaper the Mirror. "I was a different person then. I wasn't open to the world and to the cultures.

<mce:script type=">: 0px initial initial;">He continued, "I would have been, 'Yo! Who are you? Give me your money.' You couldn't have a guy like Chris walking through Marcy. He'd have to get robbed. At best."

Revealing how close he is to Martin and his wife Gwyneth Paltrow now, Jay-Z said, "They are a really cool family with beautiful kids, who happen to be good at the jobs they do."