I know I'm usually complaining about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, but I thought that today I'd congratulate those who are successfully keeping the integrity of the music industry and not 'running amok' simply because they can. I want to congratulate those who have kept a spotless image during their time as a celebrity, and thank them for keeping hope alive...hope that these up and coming artists will have real role models to look up to, and that we won't have a jillion Soulja Boys and Miley Cyrus wannabe's raping the airwaves by 2015. I have conjured up a list of music artists who, despite their worldwide celebrity status, have kept a very professional image, are able to brush off the ridiculous rumors, avoid falling into the gossip traps, and leave the drama at home. The artists who make this list are truly talented, and are God's gift to the music industry. Yeah, that's right...

So, without further adieu, *drumroll please* Here are the nominees for Cris Cross' Top 10 Outstanding Artists:

10. Eminem -Ok, so Eminem doesn't have the best report card when it comes to his past and all the issues that he dealt with regarding drugs, his upbringing, and his wife/ex-wife/baby-mama/arch-enemy... but his ability to overcome those obstacles and still make great music is uncanny, which is why he takes the #10 spot on my list.

9. Christina Aguilera -This young lady made a shaky transition from Disney pop stardom into adulthood with her album Dirrty, but she grew out of it and holds the #9 spot because she hits notes like no other. One of the truly talented singers in the industry today, this girl can blow your socks off!

I stumbled upon this guy today and I think he falls into the category of crazy stuff to blog about. Greg Pattillo has created a name for himself doing something incredibly odd, but realllllly cool! He is a 'fluteboxer.'

'What is a fluteboxer,' you ask? Well, it can only be a guy who plays the flute while beatboxing! He isn't really called the Pied Piper, I just thought it would be funny. Patillo is a Seattle native, but he currently resides in Brooklyn, New York. He has both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Patillo's claim to fame has earned him appearances on iCarly, Lilly Allen and Friends, BBC Three, and most notably, YOUTUBE! I don't have anything else to say, so I'll just let you see Mr. Pied Piper for yourself.
 

Something that has always plagued me regarding the music industry: why does the media portray music artists so differently than people in the film industry? What I mean by this is why do we analyze and critique every aspect of a musician, be it what they do at home on the couch, or the lyrics of their songs, or what they're wearing in their music videos, yet actors don't get the same criticisms regarding the roles that they play on the big screen.

For example, Jonny Depp is known for his eerie serial killer/dope dealing roles in movies like Sweeney Todd and Blow, and we like or dislike them according to the plot and his performance, but of course we all know that his personal identity is separate from the roles that he plays in these films. We don't suspect that Mr. Depp is at home plotting mass murders or scheming a drug deal, nor do we think that he is promoting any of the lifestyles that he portrays. He is just one of many actors and actresses who play roles like obsessive lovers, rapists, prostitutes, etc. etc. None of which we would condone or accept, yet we watch it on television and don't even consider an actor's motive for playing such a disturbing role.
 
On the other hand, musicians like Marilyn Manson, Jay-Z, Rihanna, and even the young Justin Bieber have received an earful of what the media thinks of the roles that they take on in their music. Some parents have deleted Justin Bieber off of their children's playlist because his lyrics represent an adult lifestyle that is too mature for his age. Rihanna is frowned upon for her blunt topics (in songs like 'Unfaithful', 'Russian Roulette', and 'Rude Boy'). There are cities that hold protests against Manson because of his unforgiving, and pretty creepy, image.

What happened to R&B music? Some of these mainstream artists must have forgotten that R&B means Rhythm and Blues, not Raunchy and Booty. If you take a look back at the matriculation of R&B, you will see a distinct change within the past 5-10 years. These days, all of the top 10 songs are about someone sucking and f#$King someone they just met, And its cool! NO WORRIES! The best beats, production and artists are all selling out to this sex crazed trend and abandoning the soulful roots of real R&B artists such as Marvin Gaye (just to name one of my favorites).
 
My 8 year old niece is a huge Rihanna fan, and this weekend she asked me, “Uncle, Uncle, can you get it up?"  I simply smiled and said,"That's a question only your aunt would know the answer to..." and shook my head in disbelief as she waltzed alway singing the rest of the lyrics to "Rude Boy". For the record, Yes I CAN, but that’s not the point. The point is that this conversation that was once for behind closed doors is now ear candy for whoever will listen. The radio stations will play anything that the people want to hear, and take no responsibilty for the seeds they sow in the minds of little 8-year old neices or any of our youth for that matter! But who cares right, its all about the “dolla dolla bill y'all”, in the land of the free and home of the brave. The American dream, is a microcosm of “how nasty can you get”. 

This might be old, but I just discovered this video of a chick, who we know as 'Keys,' dissing Nicki Minaj. Now, I don't listen to Nicki. I'm not a fan, and I still haven't figured out why so many people love her. Everything about her is just not appealing to me.  Anyway, let's get to the real story. Keys posted a video diss on youtube about Miss Minaj which basically states that Nicki Minaj is dumb as bricks and can't rap for s**t. The sad thing is, Nicki Minaj further verified Keys' comments by posting a RESPONSE (key word) that said, "I don't respond to stupidy because I don't have to." Her 4 minute RESPONSE went on to say "I spend so much time counting that green paper that for me to take my time out to respond to stupid, foolish, strawberry shortcake, bum b*****s that live on planet bum would almost make me [long pause and weird faces] as low on the totem pole as they are." So in an attempt to be the bigger person, Minaj (wearing a ridiculous green wig) stooped down to the bottom of the totem pole to respond to Keys (which is exactly what she said she DOESN'T do). Even sadder, Keys replied to Nicki's response and made her look even more foolish. (videos are posted below).

This is old news. It's in the blogs, the tabloids, all over youtube, etc. etc. that all of our favorite singers and rappers are into this devil worship stuff. I've been trying to keep an objective mind about this subject in order to learn all that I can about the art of devil worship and it's correlation with artists like Jay-Z, Rihanna, Lil Wayne, and Beyonce (those are among the most talked about in the music world), but of course I still have my opinions...

But anyway, people have been looking deep into the lyrics and videos of music artists in order to dig up some dirt on their personal lives and religious preferences, and many have come to the conclusion that these artists rely on the devil's handywork to acquire their fame and fortune. Just look at some of their music videos. Jay-Z has several that point straight to hell... or more correctly, to evidence that he is a follower of the devil. In his music video "On to the Next One" he is seen with several satanic images, and people are beginning to question his affiliation with the Illuminati, Freemasons, and the Occult. His wifey, Beyonce even has several music videos in which she is sporting clothes that send satanic messages, doing dance moves that supposedly glorify the devil, and depicting her birth as a devil worshiper. Analysts say that the birth of her alter ego, Sasha Fierce (which occurs in her video Crazy in Love), signifies her birth as a follower of the Occult. Others who are guilty of having evidence of demonic messages in their videos and lyrics include (but are not at all limited to): Bone Thugs N Harmony, Tupac, DMX, and Snoop Dogg to name a few. Is this something that is really happening in the music industry, or is it just a trend that's going to die out eventually?

Jay-Z has recently filed a lawsuit against Boston Red Sox star, David Ortiz, for opening up a club named Forty-Forty (allegedly after Jay-Z's chain of nightclubs named 40/40). Jay-Z is asking Ortiz to forfeit any relation to 40/40 AND $5 million in damages. I'm thinking he opened up his little club in Santo Domingo and named it 'Forty-Forty' so that people would mistakenly think that it was Jay-Z's 40/40, and if that is the case then I think Jay-Z has every right to sue Mr. Ortiz for all that he's worth (not sure how much that is, but I think $5 million will suffice). Ortiz hasn't come out of the woodworks to defend himself yet, and everyone knows that he has been spotted at Jay-Z's 40/40 on several occasions, so he can't use ignorance as an excuse. But since he hasn't spoken up to defend his nightclub, I think anyone would assume that he's just a dumb baseball player who thought he could pull one over on us.

In order to sound objective and unbiased (haha),I'm sure people do stuff like that all the time, but he just chose the wrong opponent. Jay-Z is pretty smart, I'm sure he can tell when somebody is trying to name their club after his. If he just HAD to copy somebody, I think he should have named his club Privilege, after the largest club in the world, Privilege Ibiza. I bet the owner of Privilege Ibiza is too busy to notice some baby club named after his on the other side of the world (which holds a capacity of over ten thousand people!), but then again that could backfire, too. If real Privilege owner actually did notice, he could sue for a bit more in damages. He'd probably have to sell all of his property, his identity, and his wife and 3 kids.