"Let's not lose focus." So sayeth JASE HARLEY, the New Jersey rapper whose 2016 "AMERICAN PHARAOH" bears enough of a resemblance to CHILDISH GAMBINO's 2018 "THIS IS AMERICA" to have turned all of REDDIT, INSTAGRAM and TWITTER into plagiarism investigators over the past two days. I'd like to think he's speaking for all of us. Seriously, let's not lose focus. Let's maintain our senses of proportion and context. Let's save our outrage for truly outrageous things. Let's spend a little more time listening to what artists like Jase Harley and Childish Gambino are trying to say and a little less time listening to random Redditors transcribe the manner in which they say it... For the record, they're both trap songs with triplet flows addressing the black experience in America. They both have something to say. The vocal inflections overlap. They *feel* similar. Like, I suspect, most of America, I was familiar with only one of them until Sunday. Was DONALD GLOVER familiar with Jase Harley's song before then? Did he nick a piece of it, either consciously or subconsciously? Is it possible that two black men in America have similar feelings about the state of their union and similar impulses on how to express it? Do all pop songs, to some extent, either consciously or subconsciously nick pieces of other pop songs? Should we spend our time policing that? Or accepting it? Even celebrating it? My favorite response to these questions, all of which have been asked plenty of times in the past 36 hours, has come from Harley, who thinks he probably did inspire Glover, and who wouldn't mind a shoutout, and who says it's "all good tho.. he’s a great artist, dope I could’ve had some influence on the record." And then in another Instagram post, as if to make sure he wasn't being misunderstood: "I feel extremely humbled to be recognized and labeled as one or the original inspirations for one of the most important pieces of music and visual art of our time. I appreciate all the love and support! But PLEASE DON’T let this controversy dilute the message me and @childishgambino are trying to convey." That's where the focus belongs. And if a little extra light has been shined on Jase Harley, even better. I'm all for credit where credit is due, and as far as karma is concerned, Harley has already received it... Also, props to him for spelling "American Pharaoh" correctly. As opposed to, you know... XXXTENTACION is the first artist with a posthumous #1 single in the US since the NOTORIOUS B.I.G. in 1997. Title of the new #1 song in America: "SAD"... VIJAY IYER, CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT and KENDRICK LAMAR among winners of DOWNBEAT critics poll... Lamar, QUESTLOVE, CHUCK D and WENDY & LISA among musicians invited into ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS & SCIENCES... For sale: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN's hand-written "BORN TO RUN" lyrics. ELVIS PRESLEY's private jet. It's not out of the question that the 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of ruled notebook paper will go for more than the 1962 LOCKHEED JETSTAR... RIP DAN INGRAM.