Whenproducers approached Richard Cortez in Manhattan last year, the youngsinger-songwriter was asked to "degayify" his image—or tone down hismannerisms and remove the same-sex references embedded within his music.

"Somehow,they got their hands on one of my shitty demos," he says, phoning fromhis home in Pembroke Pines. "Basically, they wanted to put me togetheras a package and sell me off."

Cortezsays the group of NYC music producers—responsible for molding thatother "star in a jar" Ricky Martin—pushed him beyond his ethicalbreaking point.

"Iwas into it at first," he recalls, rattling off the details in rapidsuccession. "Then they were trying to get me a speech coach becausethey said I sounded gay and they wanted to get rid of all of the gayaspects of my music. I didn't feel right about it."

"Itwas a driving force for me to start my own record label and move backto Florida," Cortez explains. "They even went as far to ask me to get agirlfriend. Telling the truth has been instilled in me since mychildhood. I just couldn't lie."

"Iwas busting my ass singing at a piano bar in NYC to pay rent for mycrazy-ass apartment where some guy slept in a kitchen," he says. "Twoyears later, I have my own label and my records sell on iTunes. Lookingback, I made the right decision."

Armedwith his debut album "Craving Something Beautiful," Cortez refined hissound—something he calls queer-folk funk—and molded a promisingrecording career on his own terms.

"Icouldn't pull it off anyway," he jokes about playing straight. "I'm toomuch of a cocksucker to deny it. And I'm not ready to be Clay Aiken andbe so gay and tell everybody that I'm not. It just wouldn't work."

"Forme, art is about pushing it to the max," he contends. "I come up withthese songs alone in my bedroom, giggling to myself as I'm hitting thebong. So, they're like little confessions. As corny as it sounds, mymusic is like my diary."

"I'mnot sugarcoated so my songs aren't sugarcoated," he quips. "When I'monstage, the only way the audience will have fun is if I'm having fun."

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