NOT since the death of the iconic Michael Jackson in 2009, an event that the forensic, autopsy and police investigations confirmed was due to a combination cocktail of drugs including a powerful sedative legally available only by doctor’s prescription, has there been such a profound shock reverberating the body politic of Western capitalist music industry, as the recent demise of vocalist, model, actress and dancer, Whitney Houston. Although this extrovert and street-wise diva was not categorized or if we prefer, not ranked on the same plinth as Oprah, the Destiny Child super star and actress Beyonce, Aretha Franklin or Michael Jordan, Houston established internal to corporate Western culture, a niche for celestial theatre, dancehall and concert R&B.
But whilst the columnists and reviewers are more concerned, more inclined to consider her as a ‘product’ emerging from the Black Church and its repertoire of song tributes to Jesus the Christ as well as the social experience of Billie Holliday, Whitney Houston’s career and lifework was somewhat more complex.

IMPACT ON THE BLACK DIASPORA, EUROPE AND LATIN AMERICA
Historically, Houston was successful in capturing in an era dominated by soul music coupled to the evolution of reggae, funk, jazz rock, rap lyrics as composition as well as techno, a substantial support base in political Africa.
Her creativity and powers went over well in centres such as Lagos, Dakar, Accra, Nairobi and in fact throughout Southern Africa, at all social levels.
The same holds true one can surmise for her persona in the Caribbean-Jamaica and the Eastern islands comprising of the hotel and casino chains, Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana.
Additionally, she typified robust cross-over in Europe, Brazil and Latin America not to mention the United States itself.
Houston’s films “The Bodyguard” and “Waiting to Exhale” predated and coincided with the penultimate in the struggle against fascist apartheid in South Africa, with the soundtracks from “The Bodyguard” if not the script itself, posing fundamentalist challenges to racism and gender violence in America and other parts of the world. The more culture market analysts in the region such as Professor Gordon Rohlehr and Adrian Auguier would be better equipped to gauge the overall impact that she has made on the human development of West Indian society.
Whitney’s death also confirms and as a process is a reminder of a conditional reflex, derivative from post modern bourgeois life style; preoccupations that obscure rather than reveal critical insights.  Insights into the works and endeavours of other established star entertainers such as Celena the Latin songstress, Amy Winehouse and Anna Nicole Smith.

DECLINE AND RISE OF ESTABLISHED AND EMERGING MUSIC INTERESTS
The change process wrought in the ‘kollectif’ of the music industry moguls over the past decade if not two decades has been significant. No longer is there the absolute hegemony of mega corporations such as Sony, EMI, Virgin Records, Polydor or Aerista. Commencing from around the latter 1990s other recording companies and interest groups such as Island Records (originating from Jamaica and London, Badboy Records (associates of Puff Diddy), networks owned or part controlled by Jay Z (the husband of Beyonce), Gianfraco’s Media Records as well as the much longer established Motown have tended to diversify the business.
However, the reality is that the entertainment industry consists of a huge marketplace that objectively sets out to monopolise the work of hundreds of artistes through management teams as well as networks of ‘Atlanticist’ marketing agencies.  These networks stretch into Asia and to a lesser extent South Africa and Latin America as well as and especially, Europe.
It is against this background particularly with the expansion of online sourced material, that super stars such as Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, Sade, Pink and even Rihanna are both ‘active’ and ‘passive’ partners with the more intelligent and more adequately managed being successful in gaining endorsements (the beverage, footwear and sports apparel as well as couture industries). Increasingly also, the business carries a focus on lines of perfumery and designer accessories all or most of which are determined by contract agreements and deals.
Films and video transactions coupled with tour or concert schedule management and co-ordination at various levels especially the timed release of albums and CDs, have also become standard for all the high profile in the entertainment industry.
The sequel as a process involves an entire array of coworkers and collaborations emerged in the United States and elsewhere, whose labour division and input is strategic to successful tours wherever these are planned.
Amy Winehouse’s fiasco in Greece months before her death when her string of engagements were called off, as well as other tour postponements or cancellations by Rihanna and Niki Menaj, reflect the variants that are associated with the music industry.

WINEHOUSE AND NICOLE SMITH TWO REBEL FEMME FATALES
At a deeper level of tragedy of Whitney Houston could be traced to the fact that she became addicted to hard drugs specially it would appear, crack cocaine at a time when she seemed set to either gravitate into off or off-of Broadway, or perhaps establish some kind of Whitney Houston Foundation of the Arts.
Only a competent biographer supported perhaps by her long time mentor Clive Davis, or her publicist Kristen Foster could confirm this possibility. What is public knowledge however is that like Amy Winehouse, Houston entered voluntarily into Drug/Alcohol Abuse Rehab.
She was monitored by leading medical practitioners and experienced substance abuse personnel.
Winehouse was actually on a ‘curve’ where the talented singer had not touched alcohol for several weeks.  Despite all the mentoring Winehouse was discovered lifeless on July 23, 2011. The cause of death being stated as alcoholic poisoning. Her album Back to Black subsequently became the best selling of the 21st century.
The example of Anna Nicole Smith is somewhat more complicated in that she was not deeply involved in the music world. An actress and star adult entertainer for a number of years she was locked in a legal dispute with the son of oil tycoon J Howard Marshall over shares in Marshall’s estate. Smith had married the 89 year old billionaire on July 27, 1994 who died on August 4, 1995.
For more than a decade Smith was a victim of the American gossip campaigners who accused her of marrying Marshall for his money, and who conveniently overlooked or ignored the fact that she was reluctant to accept his proposal of marriage.
Legal hearings involving Smith also centred over a paternity and custodial battle over her biological daughter Danielynn. These legal wrangles brought her into the spotlight and millions of women in America and other countries sympathized with the Texan born star.
Eventually as her health deteoriated she sought support in prescription drugs and although she was not a cocaine addict it is quite possible that she would have ingested other so called designer drugs.
She died on February 6, 2007. Some accounts claim that her body was discovered by her son in a Florida hotel room, others say that she met her demise in a hotel in the Bahamas.
Whatever the truth her body was interred in the Bahamas after a ceremony attended by her close friends, her son and associates.
Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse and Anna Nicole Smith were all established figures in their own ways.
But whereas Houston became a deluxe celebrity and  superstar, both Winehouse and Smith remained rebels opting to support the oppressed and the powerless with Winehouse earning the mantle of Britain’s Cleopatra and Smith the reputation of a pied noire (poor white) Mildred Mansfield always prepared to stand up to the Man with the Big Stick. (Reprinted from last weekend’s Mirror newspaper)