Whitney’s Woes

I loved Houston’s first two albums (there is no doubt that she can sing), but I haven’t liked very much of what she has recorded since.

Her music, as a whole, does not appeal to most of the African-American community. It is no longer designed to appeal to us on a large scale, but black people fully supported her first efforts. It’s as if Houston deserted us once she achieved success to become a “crossover” artist--which in my opinion has more to do with economics than creative freedom.

Despite the way I feel about her musical choices, I am excited about her movie debut and plan to see “The Bodyguard.”

The really sad thing about this is that fame, for an African-American, can be doubly hard, because you will be judged by both whites and blacks, which seems to be a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation, and it can’t be won.

ROSEMARY C. WATSON

Los Angeles