The media has really outdone itself. Michael Jackson is a legend and his passing certainly merited a huge amount of coverage, but not that much. It was (and continues to be) way over the top, giving new meaning to the word “excessive.”

It is quite possible that Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela — combined!
— would not receive this much media attention and, let’s face it, be exploited to this extent.

And regarding “the big event” (the “star-studded memorial”), it is easy to understand why Jackson’s longtime friends Quincy Jones, Diana Ross and Elizabeth Taylor chose to not be there.

I have much respect for Michael Jackson, appreciate his artistry, understand his impact, recognize his place in history, and own most of his recordings, but right now I am suffering from a bad case of “M.J. overload.” The media overkill is almost repulsive, and haven’t many, if not most, of us had enough of Al Sharpton?

The irony in this is that, his eerie and sad strangeness notwithstanding, many of the people praising Michael Jackson now are the same ones who trashed him, made crude jokes and spread rumors when he was alive.

As for the medical issues, physician and spiritual advisor Deepak Chopra laid it on line.

“His death…is a result of these terrible doctors who are drug peddlers, who put people on drugs and continue to enable and perpetuate them,” Chopra said. “I confronted Michael many times about it…He would get upset…Then he would apologize.

“Personally speaking, this was a homicide. When the reports about child abuse emerged, that’s when it all started. After the not-guilty verdict…he asked me for a prescription and that’s when I knew he had a problem.”

IF AN AWARD were to be given for “Most Annoying Ego,” one of the nominees would surely be Kanye West. In fact, he would probably win. “I will go down in history as the voice of this generation,” he brashly proclaimed. Let’s hope he was not completely serious.

Speaking of outrageous claims, the late, iconic and wonderful Nina Simone actually blamed Quincy Jones for Michael Jackson being married to and dating White women.

“I distinctly remember meeting Michael on a plane many years ago when he was little,” said Simone, “and I said to him, ‘Don’t let them change you. You are Black and beautiful.’ But, of course, he was influenced by other people.

“I think the person who is (most) responsible for Michael’s tragedy is Quincy Jones. With Quincy with all those White women, poor little Michael didn’t know what to do. That is what I believe.”

Two of Quincy Jones’ three wives were White. Ironically, Simone, who said she “did not believe in mixing of the races,” acknowledged that she was once married to a White man, but, she said, “he was a creep.”

Okay, that’s enough this week on Michael Jackson and related subjects!

MARIAH CAREY fans — and number one on that list is husband Nick Cannon who says she is “the best there is” — are looking forward to Aug. 25. That’s when Carey’s new album, interestingly titled “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,” is scheduled to be released.

Also on the way (Aug. 11) is “Persona,” the latest from the multi-talented Queen Latifah. And coming sooner (July 28) is the debut album from Kristinia DeBarge. She is the 19-year-old daughter of James DeBarge, from the group DeBarge.

If you are a fan of the Black rock band Living Colour, you will find it interesting that after many years the band is slated to return to the recording
scene with the release an album titled “The Chair in the Doorway.”

Meanwhile, Detroit’s own Keith Washington, who had a national No. 1 hit in 1991 (“Kissing You”), is working on a new album. We received the word from Johnny Washington, art gallery owner and the mastermind behind the popular Ribs ’n’ Soul festival, which, by the way, takes place July 31-Aug. 2 at Hart Plaza, in case you didn’t know.

Eddie Murphy admits to liking Michelle Obama more than casually. I guess you could call it a “first lady crush.”

Anita Baker said most people expect celebrities to look the part at all times, forgetting that they are also ordinary people who do ordinary
things. Baker says she sometimes puts on a baseball cap and rides her bike to the nearby Kroger store. At times like those, she acknowledges having “mommy hair.”

BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW ….that in 1973 Aretha Franklin gave Esther Phillips the Grammy she had just won. Franklin felt that Phillips deserved
it for her album “From a Whisper to a Scream.”

MEMORIES: “Don’t Look Any Further” (Dennis Edwards featuring Siedah Garrett), “Let’s Start the Dance” (Hamilton Bohannon, including a powerful performance by Detroit’s own Caroline Crawford), “Breaking
Up Somebody’s Home” (Ann Peebles), “There’ll Never Be” (Switch), “More Than I Can Stand” (Bobby Womack), “Square Biz” (Teena Marie), “Trapped By a Thing Called Love” (Denise LaSalle), “Let’s Straighten It Out” (Latimore), “Hey Mr. D.J.” (Zhané), “Sensitivity”
(Ralph Tresvant).

BLESSINGS to Diane Pettis, Lydia Nance Adams, Stephen Singleton, Terry Cabell, Brenda Franklin, Wade Briggs, Lynda Laurence, Michael Brock, Fred Goree,

WORDS OF THE WEEK, from Maya Angelou: “People may forget what you said and they may forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

Let the music play!

(Steve Holsey can be reached at Svh517@aol.com and P.O. Box 02843, Detroit, MI 48202.)