Taylor Swift has told a federal court that she wrote all of the lyrics to her 2014 hit "Shake It Off," and said she had never heard of the group 3LW or their 2001 song "Playas Gon' Play" before a lawsuit was filed against her.

in a declaration this week over the case originally filed in 2017 by

Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, who wrote "Playas Gon' Play" and allege that Swift stole

The lawsuit focuses on Swift's chorus, which include the phrases, "'the players gonna play, play, play," and "the haters gonna hate, hate, hate." The 3LW songwriters point out that the 2001 song contains the lyrics, "playas, they gonna play, and haters, they gonna hate."

She said that the phrases "players gonna play" and "haters gonna hate" were part of popular culture as she was growing up, and often used "to express the idea that one can or should shrug off negativity."

Swift said her lyrics did not have any influence from 3LW and instead, is about "independence and 'shaking off' negative personal criticism through music and dance."

"In writing the lyrics, I drew partly on experiences in my life and, in particular, unrelenting public scrutiny of my personal life, 'clickbait' reporting, public manipulation, and other forms of negative personal criticism which I learned I just needed to shake off and focus on my music," Swift said.

In her declaration, Swift provides examples to illustrate her point that the phrases were widely used, including a 2013 performance by Eric Church at the Country Music Awards. Church performed his song "The Outsiders," which also includes the lyrics "the player's gonna play and a hater's gonna hate." 

At one of her own performances in 2013, Swift says she wore a T-shirt with the phrase "haters gonna hate" on it, and added that she purchased the shirt from Urban Outfitters.

Swift concluded that she had "never heard the song Playas Gon' Play and had never heard of that song or the group 3LW," before the lawsuit by Hall and Butler in 2017. 

"None of the CDs I listened to as a child, or after that, were by 3LW," Swift said. "I have never heard the song Playas Gon' Play on the radio, on television, or in any film. The first time I ever heard the song was after this claim was made."

Hall and Butler have said that they coined the phrase, and that while it "may seem like common parlance today," it was "completely original and unique" when they wrote the song. 


The next hearing in this case is scheduled for Sept. 19.


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Wynne Davis

Taylor Swift says she had never heard of the group 3LW or their 2001 song "Playas Gon' Play" before a lawsuit was filed against her accusing her of stealing lyrics.


Taylor Swift at the 'Cats' movie premiere, 2019.

Steven Ferdman/Getty Images

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

3LW - Playas Gon' Play

Taylor Swift says she never listened to 3LW before writing 'Shake It Off'

 song or watched a performance online, expectations of catching brilliance when you witness the jazz duo in person are likely high. JD's drumsticks move faster than the brain can process. DOMi offers every appendage on her body to the keys. It's frantic but focused, and I can't stop watching. For as tight as the two artists are musically — and even physically; one of their few Tiny Desk requests was for the drums and keys to be set up as close as possible —  they take silly self-deprecating jabs when they aren't playing. It's believable until they transform and the music starts.

The two musicians come from two completely different parts of the world. James Beck began cutting his teeth as young as 11 at jam sessions in Dallas. DOMi, aka Domitille Degalle, was born in France and raised on jazz, and enrolled at the Conservatoire Régional du Grand Nancy at five. DOMi eventually made her way to the States via a Presidential Scholarship from the Berklee College of Music. The two met at a trade show in 2018 and have been inseparable since, playing sets on YouTube and driving the internet nuts. Before they knew it, they were rubbing elbows with the upper echelon in jazz, R&B and hip-hop. 

The duo's debut album, ironically titled 

, is a graduation of sorts with all of their OGs lending a hand — notably Anderson .Paak, who took DOMi and JD BECK under his wing and made the duo the first signee to his APES*** label. The two brought highlights from that album to the Tiny Desk, including the vines, turf and vibrant floral arrangements from the album cover. Before "U DON'T HAVE TO ROB ME," a true story turned comedy, they make another attempt at neutralizing the room. DOMi says, "We're gonna ruin it!" It's too late for all of that. We're already amazed.

Bobby Carter

The jazz duo known for dazzling, brilliant live performances delivered at the Tiny Desk, with a set of songs from its debut album.


DOMi & JD BECK: Tiny Desk Concert

Songwriter Lamont Dozier has died at age 81. Along with Brian and Eddie Holland, Dozier co-wrote dozens hits for The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops and others. His death was announced by his son on 

"Heat Wave," "How Sweet It Is," "Stop In The Name of Love," "You Keep Me Hangin' On," "Nowhere To Run," "Bernadette"... Holland-Dozier-Holland were talented, prolific songwriters who were instrumental in making Motown "the home of Hitsville, U.S.A."

His family released a statement saying the "devoted father and legendary songwriter, producer and recording artist, died peacefully in his home on Monday, August 8. ... We love him dearly and will miss him always."

Dozier grew up in Detroit.  In 2004, he told 

 it was an elementary school teacher who liked his writing and encouraged him to keep at it. "She thought it was very astute of me to have such a feel for words and stuff," Dozier said, "So I started to put these words to music by the time I was, like, 12 or 13."

By the time he was 15, Dozier had his own doo-wop group called The Romeos.

In the 1960s, the Motor City's most talented artists soon found their way to Berry Gordy's Motown. Gordy modeled his record label after a Ford assembly line with Holland-Dozier-Holland quickly becoming one of its finest song designers. 

Earlier this year the Library of Congress named Holland-Dozier-Holland's "Reach Out, I'll Be There," recorded by The Four Tops in 1966, to its 

Lamont Dozier "wanted to write 'a journey of emotions with sustained tension, like a bolero,'" according to The Library of Congress. "To achieve that, he 'alternated the keys, from a minor, Russian feel in the verse to a major, gospel feel in the chorus.' "

Dozier parted ways with the Holland brothers in the early 1970s but his creative output continued over the next several decades. He released a solo album and penned songs for Alison Moyet, Simply Red and Phil Collins.

How Sweet It Is: A Songwriter's Reflections on Music, Motown and the Mystery of the Muse

Elizabeth Blair

Dozier died at 81. As part of the songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland, he co-wrote dozens of hits, including "Baby Love," "Heat Wave" and "Reflections," helping to define the Motown sound.


Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images

Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for BMI

Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Songwriter Lamont Dozier who co-wrote hits for the Supremes and Four Tops has died

DETROIT — The historic section of Detroit where Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr. built his music empire six decades ago is now looking better than ever.

Motown legend — and Gordy's best friend — Smokey Robinson was among those who visited the newly improved Motown Museum site on Monday night for an event celebrating the completion of the first two phases of the museum's expansion.

Robinson was joined by Otis Williams, Martha Reeves and other Motown luminaries in celebrating the grand opening of Hitsville NEXT, an educational programming and creative hub, and the newly established Rocket Plaza.

"Kids who aren't even born yet will be aware of Motown," Robinson told The Associated Press during an interview ahead of the event held near the entrance to the museum. "Some of their parents weren't even born when we started this. But it's a wonderful thing."

The festivities included comments from Robinson and Williams, an original founding member of The Temptations who gifted microphones to the museum from his personal collection.

And they concluded with a performance of the Temptations classic, "My Girl," performed by the cast of the musical "Ain't Too Proud," and introduced by Marcus Paul James, who portrays Williams in the show.

"I am very happy to be part of something — this here, Motown — (that will) outlast us all," Williams said.

The museum will continue to be housed in the famed "Hitsville, U.S.A" building at 2648 West Grand Boulevard.

But three nearby Motown-era buildings have been transformed into Hitsville NEXT, which will be home to camps, workshops, master classes and community events. It represents the first phase of the museum's expansion.

Phase two is Rocket Plaza, an outdoor plaza that will serve as a community gathering place and a welcome destination for museum visitors.

"This plaza is the new front porch to Motown," said Robin Terry, Motown Museum chairwoman and CEO.

Gordy launched Motown in 1959. His late sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, founded the museum in the former Hitsville headquarters in 1985. In addition to Robinson and The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye and many others recorded hits there before Motown moved to California in 1972.

The museum is inviting the community to its Founder's Day celebration on Saturday in honor of Gordy Edwards, the reopening and the completed expansion phases.


And the museum on Sunday will welcome back visitors for tours of Hitsville, U.S.A. following pandemic- and construction-related closures.


The Associated Press

Motown-era buildings near the museum have been transformed into Hitsville NEXT, which will be home to camps, workshops, master classes and community events.


Smokey Robinson and Otis Williams pose together

Daniel Mears

Daniel Mears/AP

Motown stars celebrate a museum expansion that honors Hitsville

Each week, we add new music, older tracks, which are known as “Gold adds”, and tracks that might not fit our general format, but still deserve a place in rotation because they serve our mission of showing the depth, breadth, and influence of Black musical expression - These are known as “Variety adds.”

We’re sharing this to get you excited to listen and to open up the floor for feedback and suggestions. If you want to request a song, 

. If you make music and want it considered for rotation, 

 If you want to give feedback directly, reach out to me at jgreen@mpr.org.

If you want to know what the track sounds like, scroll down to find Spotify playlists for the new, Gold, and Variety adds. Don’t forget to 

This week on The Message on Carbon Sound, Sanni will be exploring the different regions of the US - east coast, west coast, midwest coast (let's get this term started), south coast (this one, too), etc. etc.. Tune in to hear her every Mon-Thurs from 10a-1p!

Special shoutout to Derrick Stevens for helping make clean edits for some of our Gold adds this week! 

DOMi & JD Beck - “TAKE A CHANCE” feat. Anderson .Paak

Kaash Paige - “24 Hrs” feat. Lil Tjay

Nia Sultana - “Proven” feat. Rick Ross

Mark Ronson - “Too Much” feat. Lucky Daye

Chrisette Michele - “Epiphany (I'm Leaving)”

Floetry - “Butterflies (Demo Version)”

Geto Boys - “Mind Playing Tricks on Me”

Missy Elliott - “WTF (Where They From)” feat. Pharrell Williams

Rick Ross - “Aston Martin Music” feat. Drake & Chrisette Michele

ScHoolboy Q - “Studio” feat. BJ the Chicago Kid

Total - “Can't You See” feat. The Notorious B.I.G.

Julian Green built and manages the music library for Carbon Sound and oversees content creation.  


Julian Green

All of the tracks added to rotation on Carbon Sound the week of August 8, 2022.


Designed by Cornel Beard

Carbon Sound Gold Adds Week of August 8, 2022

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of August 8, 2022

Skinflint. Vulvodyinia. Metal Orizon. Wrust. Demorogoth Satanum.

You probably haven't heard of these names, but they're just some of the many African heavy metal bands featured in Edward Banchs' new book, 

Scream for Me, Africa! Heavy Metal Identities in Post-Colonial Africa

. The book examines the hard rock and metal scenes in Botswana, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Togo to understand why artists and fans flock to this extreme subculture — and how bands have turned this predominantly white, Western musical genre into something uniquely African.

Africans have been fans of popular metal bands like Metallica, Motörhead and Iron Maiden since the 1970s, says Banchs, 43, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based researcher and freelance writer who calls himself a "lifelong metalhead since I was in grade school." 

What draws them to this music, known for its screeching vocals, distorted guitars and nasty drum and bass rhythms, he adds, is that "metal bands are quick to hold a mirror right back to society — and [listeners] are responsive to the raw, human emotion."

While many African metal bands are heavily influenced by these early pioneers — they put their own spin on the music, writing lyrics that call for social justice and celebrate African heritage and traditions.

, for example, speaks of fighting the incessant poverty ravaging Ghanaians in slums," says Banchs. "And 

 from Togo uses their music to identify pre-colonial traditions they grew up being taught in their Ewe culture, like [preserving and caring for the] environment. They perform in the Ewe language as well."

Despite a growing fanbase, few African metal bands have been able to cross into the Western metal scene and gain international recognition. "The reality is the economics of Africa. Playing in a band is expensive. The ability to access good instruments is not easy," says Banchs. "Furthermore, electricity [required to power electric guitars, microphones and amps] remains inconsistent in certain places."

 from Botswana is one African act that's overcome barriers. In 2016, the band played at 

 in Germany, the world's biggest heavy metal festival. Banch interviews lead singer Tshomarelo "Vulture" Mosaka — and we reached out to him to hear his story and vision. He lives in the village of Letlhakane in central Botswana, where he lives with his girlfriend and two young children, and works as a private security officer when he's not 

 with his band. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you get your nickname? Sounds hardcore. 

One day when I was around 13 or 14, my parents were expecting visitors. They had food inside the kitchen. When my parents were chatting outside with other people, I went to eat the meat — all of it. I sat down next to the visitors like nothing happened. Then my uncle said to me: "Go get the food for the visitors." I went to the kitchen and got the food, which was covered with a lid. My heart was beating so hard. When the guests took off the lid, there was no meat. I was frozen. And my uncle [pointed at me and] said: "It's this guy! This guy is a vulture! He stole the meat!"

And ever since then, that's what people called me: Vulture. 

And that's your stage name, too. You've been a fixture in Botswana's metal scene for decades. How did you get into heavy metal? 

I think I was around 10 years old. In my home village of Rakops in Botswana, one of my uncles was always playing heavy metal music. He had cassette tapes by Motörhead, Metallica, Iron Maiden and Sepultura, and I fell in love with it. When he found out I liked metal too, he was like: "Are you sure you want to be a metalhead? It's more than just the music. It's a lifestyle." And I said: "I'm ready!"

And from that early fandom, you started getting into Botswana's metal scene. 

 [which formed in the early 1990s and is regarded as the country's first heavy metal band] and 

, another group, followed. We were all part of one scene, and we were like a family. There were no limits between the artists and the fans.

And you say this scene supported your own musical journey. You're the frontman of 

, the four-piece heavy metal band you started in 2008. What are some of the themes you sing about?

Our intention is to spread messages [about issues]

that people don't usually talk about, like false prophets. For example, we know of some pastors [in Botswana] who will preach in one way, but behind people's backs they'll do something different. And so with our music we actually criticize them.

Can you share some lyrics from a song about that?

The name of one song is "Bogus Vicars." These are [some of] the lyrics:

[Gnash] their spirits with your phony parables

Haha, you're telling me these lyrics while you're smiling and laughing — but yeah, that's pretty metal all right!

We always have this conflict between us and religious people.

Most of the stereotypes we faced as a band in Botswana were from religious people. They fail to understand that nobody knows the truth and we are all the same.

When we first started our band Overthrust in our small township, they were against our music, especially because we were very extreme. So they started labeling us locally as the devil. And I remember around 2014, there were a lot of accidents in the township and they were blaming us, saying we were casting evil spirits in the town.

But luckily the leadership in the town was open-minded. They said: This is just music, let people do their thing. They're not doing anything wrong.

Apart from loving metal music, what does it mean to be a metalhead in Botswana? 

We have our own unique style going on here. 

: spikes, chains, leather pants, cowboy boots and hats.

We have a huge cattle culture in Botswana.

Does the heavy metal scene help boost the economy in Botswana? According to the World Bank, 

 lives under $5.50 a day — the poverty line for upper-middle income countries.

Overthrust Winter Metal Mania Charity Festival

, every year. It's been going on for 14 years. People pay a fee to get in and part of those proceeds go to charity. We try to identify beneficiaries who are disadvantaged. That includes orphans, people or children with a disability or who are affected by HIV/AIDS. And then some of the proceeds of the festival are given to those people for their needs — basic things like food baskets, clothing or funds for education or to start a small business. In 2021, for example, we donated $400 to a maternity ward in central Botswana.

When we do these festivals, people who work around the festival also benefit: hotels (people do travel from other countries), people selling foodstuffs, even local game reserves and national parks [where artists and festival-goers from out of town go and sightsee before and after the festival].

It's hard to imagine religious groups calling you evil when you're helping the community.


The little I got I will share with those in need.



Malaka Gharib

Africa's metalheads have a bold vision. We talk to Edward Banchs, author of a new book about Africa's metal scene, and to a heavy metal singer in Botswana known as "Vulture."


YouTube

Courtesy of Tshomarelo Mosaka

Youtube

Courtesy of Edward Banchs

ARKA'N-Tears of the Dead Official Video

VICTIMS OF CURSE LIVE IN LETLHAKANE

Overthrust - Desecrated Deeds To Decease (2015)

'Scream for Me, Africa!': How the continent is reinventing heavy metal music

MINEOLA, N.Y. — The driver in a hit-and-run crash that killed the father of rapper Nicki Minaj last year was sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail, in keeping with a promise the judge made when the man pleaded guilty in May.

Charles Polevich, who pleaded guilty to leaving the scene and tampering with evidence in the crash on New York's Long Island that killed Robert Maraj, was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and had his driver's license suspended for six months.

Polevich's lawyer, Marc Gann, suggested his client may have had a medical issue at the time of the crash and that he wasn't fully aware of what had happened when he fled.

Polevich, 72, said in court that he's "been heartsick since realizing the extent of the tragedy" and that there was "no excuse" for his behavior.

Maraj's widow, Carol Maraj, said in court that Polevich had left her husband "like a dog on the street" and that sparing him a longer jail sentence was a "slap in the face for the family," Newsday reported.

Polevich struck Maraj, 64, while Maraj was walking along Roslyn Road in Mineola in February 2021. Polevich stopped briefly to ask Maraj if he was OK, but didn't call for help, prosecutors said.

Instead, Polevich went home, parked the car — a white, 1992 Volvo station wagon — in his garage and covered it with a tarp, prosecutors said. Maraj was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead the next day.

Prosecutors sought a sentence of one to three years behind bars, but Nassau County Judge Howard Sturim said in May, when Polevich pleaded guilty, that he would get "no more than one year in jail."

Brendan Brosh, a spokesperson for the Nassau County district attorney's office, said that "given the severity of the defendant's conduct," prosecutors felt a stiffer sentence was warranted.

"We continue to express our condolences to the family of Robert Maraj," Brosh said.

Gann asked for a 90-day jail sentence, arguing that other factors outside of Polevich's control were partially to blame for the crash, including road construction, street lights that weren't working and Maraj's physical condition.

Maraj's widow, Carol Maraj, is suing Polevich over the crash.

Polevich, who had been splitting time between Long Island and Guam, where he runs a drilling and water purification business, surrendered to police a few days after the crash.

Detectives said they used pieces of surveillance video to track the Volvo involved in the crash to Polevich's Mineola home.

Nicki Minaj, the platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated rapper of "Anaconda," "Super Bass" and other hits, was born Onika Tanya Maraj in Trinidad and was raised in Queens.


In a post on her website, Minaj, 39, called her father's death "the most devastating loss of my life."


Charles Polevich pleaded guilty to leaving the scene and tampering with evidence in the crash on New York's Long Island that killed Robert Maraj.


An elderly man with a face mask walks out of court 2

Howard Schnapp

Howard Schnapp/AP

The driver in a hit-and-run that killed Nicki Minaj's father is sentence to one year

Early in his set at the Newport Jazz Festival on Sunday afternoon, 

 left his station at the piano, stepping over to a microphone. "I've been thinking about what it means for people to gather and listen again, together," he said, waving an arm toward the sunbaked crowd at Fort Adams State Park. His words carried layers of connotation, rooted in the shared understanding of something precious lost and found. 

That feeling ran throughout the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival, back in full after a pandemic disruption. (There was no in-person event in 2020, and a reduced capacity in 2021.) But this was also its first edition since 

, who co-founded the fest in 1954, setting a standard for outdoor music presentation that he continued to refine and realign well into his 90s. So there were bittersweet notes even in the weekend's bounding exuberance, as festival veterans like bassist 

 made their mark alongside newcomers like trumpeter Giveton Gelin and singer Samara Joy, who each made glowing, auspicious debuts. 

Another first-timer to the Newport Jazz Festival this year: 

, a brilliant photojournalist who's been on staff at the 

for the last 30 years. A lifelong jazz fan, Muhammad was in perpetual motion at Fort Adams, capturing artists both onstage and behind the scenes. This assortment of images represents the merest fraction of what he shot, but it conveys the spirit of the fest — up to and including its finale, an all-star tribute to Wein.

, Wein's handpicked successor as artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival (who also serves as host of 

), this was a celebration both poignant and euphoric. Its heavyweight crew included some of the artists nearest and dearest to Wein's heart — like 

, trumpeters Jon Faddis and Randy Brecker, clarinetist 

. They all converged onstage for the closing number, a rollick through Duke Ellington's "Cotton Tail" that summoned the sound and spirit of Newport Jazz Festivals past, while gleefully barreling ahead.

Alanté Serene edited the photos for this piece.

Nate Chinen

The festival's first full edition in two years — and its first since the death of co-founder George Wein — saw dynamic performances from Newport veterans alongside glowing debuts from newcomers.


EVA HAMBACH/AFP/Getty Images

Ozier Muhammad for NPR

After a pandemic disruption, Newport Jazz Festival makes a poignant, euphoric return

Photos from Friday’s show at the Skyway Theatre


Isaiah Stillwell

Photos: Benny The Butcher, Juice Lord, and J. Plaza at the Skyway Theatre

While it seems like we're in a world-is-over-let's-party revival (see: 

), there's been a hip-hop and house crossover building for decades that deserves recognition. And what better to serve at an apocalypse party than a variety platter of authentic bars and beats that delight? Enter "Drugs Du Jour," the latest single from queer hip-hop innovator Cakes da Killa. At the forefront of New York's house-rap scene since 2011, the introspective Cakes toes the line between bounce and thought. And as for the growing visibility of a sound he helped craft? He questions listeners and artists alike, asking: "Do you really speak the language? Do you know what you're here for? Can you see the things that they ignore?"   

Gabby Bulgarelli

At the forefront of New York's house-rap scene since 2011, the introspective Cakes toes the line between bounce and thought.


Stories

Taylor Swift says she never listened to 3LW before writing 'Shake It Off'

DOMi & JD BECK: Tiny Desk Concert

Songwriter Lamont Dozier who co-wrote hits for the Supremes and Four Tops has died

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Motown stars celebrate a museum expansion that honors Hitsville

New Music on Carbon Sound - Week of August 8, 2022

'Scream for Me, Africa!': How the continent is reinventing heavy metal music

The driver in a hit-and-run that killed Nicki Minaj's father is sentence to one year

Connect with Carbon Sound

After a pandemic disruption, Newport Jazz Festival makes a poignant, euphoric return

Photos: Benny The Butcher, Juice Lord, and J. Plaza at the Skyway Theatre

Cakes Da Killa, 'Drugs Du Jour'

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