Sally Anthony's growing musical popularity is giving her a chance to explain her role in a 2005 pro basketball controversy. (Submitted photo)

Singer-model Vika Cupnaia, 23, says that a sexy image shouldn't invite unprofessional conduct from men in the industry. (Michelle Pemberton for The Star)

Pop singer Lynda Sayyah, 22, says having the right look goes along with musical marketablity. She says music industry execs ask to see her photos first. (Michelle Pemberton for The Star)

Solo artist Andrew Young makes a point of mixing slow songs into his Landsharks sets. (Michelle Pemberton for The Star)

Hip-hopper "Riddles," aka Lawrence Thomas, 23, says he doesn't have to tout violence. (Michelle Pemberton for The Star)

Click here to watch the 'Booty and the Beats' video that accompanies this story

Marvin Gaye thrived on sexual healing.

Salt-N-Pepa encouraged listeners to talk about sex.

And Justin Timberlake apparently succeeded in bringing sexy back.

Indianapolis may not be a glamour capital of the music industry, but several Hoosier acts make libido a large part of their work and image.

According to rapper Riddles -- whose new album includes the songs "Lil' Mama" and "Ride Me Slow" -- steamy rhymes appeal to a wide segment of potential fans.

"Everybody's not from the suburbs, and everybody's not from the hood," Riddles says. "But everybody has sex. Everybody wants to hear about sexuality."

Andrew Young once posed with two thong-clad women to promote his music, but the R&B singer says sex appeal often overshadows substance.

"I think it's taken too much away from the music," Young says.

"But to survive, you have to adapt. So that's what we try to do."

Vocalist-model Vika says beauty brings attention, plus headaches, to musicians.

"People look at pretty girls as pieces of meat, not as artists," says Vika, who grew up in Moldova in eastern Europe before moving to Indianapolis as a teenager.

More than once, music-industry executives have requested photographs from local pop singer Lynda Sayyah before asking to hear her songs.

"You never see somebody who's really talented that doesn't have the right look," Sayyah says. "You just don't see it."

Sally Anthony, who sells "Anti-Princess" tank tops and her new album "Goodbye" at her Web site, says sexuality factors into her career as much or as little as she desires.

"If it's used against us, let's use it to sell us," Anthony says. "Isn't that the ultimate feminist quote?"

Lynda Sayyah

www.myspace.com/lyndasayyah

The daughter of a Palestinian father and a German mother, Lynda Sayyah (pronounced "sigh-ah") knows the consequences of provocative imagery.

She says members of her family have denounced photos that expose her legs, cleavage and midriff.

To many in the Arab community, Sayyah explains, she is equated with a product being sold -- which is equated with prostitution.

"My mom will call and say, 'Lynda, can you take those pictures down off of MySpace? Can you take that stuff off of Facebook? The family members in Lebanon are looking at them, and they're calling your dad,'." Sayyah says.

Her song "A Ya Ya" addresses this close-to-home criticism with a chorus of "I'm gonna do it my way. I don't care what you say."

"It's very empowering and it would work for any experience," Sayyah says of the song. "Everybody feels like they're being pressured by somebody."

Describing her music as a mix of hip-hop, pop and rock "with an Arabian twist," Sayyah plans to make belly-dancing part of her live performances.

"It will be sexual and a little bit risque," the Fishers native says. "But it will be fun and entertaining."

It's not surprising to learn that Sayyah considers judgmental people to be a turn-off. She says she's attracted to talent and confidence.

Sayyah's career is managed by Danny Stanton, whose clients include Foreigner, Twisted Sister and Sebastian Bach. Within a year, she hopes to have a European tour under her belt and to be signed to a major recording label.

"I'm not going to sit and wait," she says. "I will keep pushing and pushing, and the project will get bigger and bigger and bigger. I'll prove myself nonstop, and you'll have to get involved."

Riddles

www.myspace.com/riddlesmusic

Sex sells, and Lawrence "Riddles" Thomas says women are buying.

"If people say I make soft music and music for the females, I do," says the rapper, who grew up in St. Louis. "That's what I do, and I'm going to keep doing it."

While violence is a popular theme in mainstream hip-hop, Riddles says he avoids the topic on current album "Indianapolis Star."

"Nobody wants to hear about you riding around blowing people's heads off," says Riddles, who will perform Dec..8 at Cloud 9, 5150 W. 38th St. "My mother can sit down and listen to my CD. Your mother can sit down and listen to my CD."

Sticking to a low-key wardrobe of T-shirts and sneakers, Riddles says a musician's magnetism is enough to attract the opposite sex.

"It's hard to believe, but I can dress just like the next man, and (women) will like my image more because they like what's going on with me," he says.

Riddles performs in concert with high-energy female dancers, and he mentions LL Cool J as an influential rapper who possesses a romantic streak.

"I love women, and I'm going to talk about what represents me," Riddles says. "Sex has been here since the beginning of time. It's never going to stop. The people I grew up listening to? They were talking about the same thing."

Vika

www.myspace.com/theonevika

The connection between music and image is basic, according to pop singer Vika Cupnaia, whose first name is pronounced "veek-ah."

"When you buy a CD," she says, "don't you look at the cover to see what the person looks like?"

Dozens of photos are posted at Vika's MySpace.com profile, where she's seen wearing everything from business attire to lingerie. She also sells calendars featuring her photos there.

Modeling and singing are complementary tasks, she says.

"I know I have to go to the studio to sing, and then I have to go to the studio to model because I know I'm going to use that toward my singing," Vika says.

Whether she's posing to portray innocence or posing to portray seduction, the native of Moldova upholds modeling as its own art form.

"You can look sexy but still carry that classy energy," she says.

As Vika travels from Miami to Atlanta and from New York to Los Angeles to meet with music-industry connections, she considers established stars Rihanna and P----cat Dolls leader Nicole Scherzinger to be her competition.

And when men in the industry have something other than music in mind, it's a sign of disrespect, she says.

"If you don't see me as being totally into business and you come up to me on a personal level, there's no way we can work together," Vika says.

The owner of independent label The One Entertainment, Vika is seeking major-label distribution for her upcoming album "All About Me." She recently made a video for the song "Fantasize" at Broad Ripple nightclub Seven. The clip's male lead is Atlanta Falcons defensive back Antoine Harris.

"I get so excited," Vika says of a potential mainstream breakthrough for her singing career. "It gives me a really weird feeling with butterflies in my stomach. I already know it can happen at anytime, any day."

Andrew Young

www.myspace.com/aryrecords

Andrew Young realizes rapid beats dominate nightclub culture, but he makes room for a few ballads when singing Wednesdays at Landsharks in Broad Ripple.

"In the clubs, you see so much fast music and no attention paid to slow music," Young says.

In contrast, the Warren Central High School and Butler University graduate 8recalls a time when slow dances were a romantic highlight of a night at the club.

"When do you get a chance to talk to somebody (today)? When you're trying to scream over the music to get a drink?"

On the topic of cocktails, Young says there's nothing attractive about audience members who overdo it.

"I don't like to see when girls get extremely drunk and they're sloppy," he says. "But I love people having fun."

Young -- who won multiple rounds of "Star Search" as a teenager (and notes that Justin Timberlake lost in his only "Star Search" appearance) -- says his music is a mix of R&B and hip-hop with equal emphasis on old-school and new-school approaches.

Acknowledging a larger following among females than males, Young says some of his performances are billed as "Ladies Nights."

"It's very much been part of the 'sell' of the music," Young says.

On current album "Lifetime," Young recorded versions of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," LeVert's "My Forever Love" and the Time's "Gigolos Get Lonely Too."

Young, who owns the independent label ARY Records, worked with veteran producers John Michael Howcott (whose credits include work with Silk and the Braxtons) and William "Billy Bad" Ward (Keith Sweat) on "Lifetime."

When talking about his work, Young downplays style in favor of substance.

"I want to be known -- and always be known -- as somebody that when people go listen to me sing, they say, 'He's really good. It's not just an image or the look.'."

Sally Anthony

www.myspace.com/sallyanthonypage

Sally Anthony's current album, "Goodbye," debuted at No. 9 on Billboard magazine's Heatseekers chart this month -- meaning the album ranks among the most popular by acts that haven't reached the Top 100 of Billboard's overall chart.

Far from an instant success, Anthony has played open-microphone nights and toured colleges where she says lunchtime cafeteria crowds ignored her. Thanks to distribution through major music corporation EMI, "Goodbye" is available at retail outlets nationwide.

"I've noticed when you walk into a place and mention EMI, the attitude is, 'Oh, you're a real artist,'." Anthony says. "I think, 'Oh, really? Was I a real artist five years ago?' I'm not bitter about it. It's just kind of funny."

In January 2005, Anthony made unfortunate headlines that had nothing to do with her musical career.

As one of the owners of professional men's basketball team the Nashville (Tenn.) Shock, Anthony attempted to fire the team's coach during a game because a player wasn't benched at Anthony's request.

"I didn't know the rules," Anthony says. "I didn't know you couldn't fire somebody on the court."

A physical altercation led to a public apology by Anthony, but she says "a lot of false reporting" surrounded the incident.

Plenty of people are asking the Indianapolis-based singer-songwriter about it now, and Anthony says she's grateful the popularity of "Goodbye" is giving her a chance to speak.

"It's a nice way to get to redeem myself," she says.

Regarding an artist's image, Anthony says sex isn't the only way to go: "Whatever image you have, you can sell."

The visual marketing of Sally Anthony has comprised blonde hair at times, brunette at others, as well as minimal clothing and full coverage.

"If I want to be naked, I can, or if I want to be fully clothed, I can," she says. "It just doesn't matter."