Drake Sued Over ‘Janice STFU’: Songwriter Claims Chorus Is ‘Literally Identical’ to His Demo
Aviel Calev Hirschfield alleges the rapper's reps "shamelessly refuse to acknowledge" his contributions to the hit Iceman single.
Drake faces a lawsuit over allegations that the chorus of his hit single "Janice STFU" is "literally identical" to a demo song composed by Aviel Calev Hirschfield. The lawsuit, filed on October 16 by Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir, alleges that Drake's team shamelessly used Hirschfield's demo without credit or payment. The demo, sent to Drake's team at the beginning of 2026, features the same melody and lyrics as the chorus of "Janice STFU," which spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Hirschfield, who interpolated the 2011 Lykke Li track "I Follow Rivers" for his demo, claims he wrote it for Drake and had previously collaborated with the rapper on the 2022 song "Heated." Despite providing Hirschfield with stems and metadata, Drake's representatives deny any involvement in the chorus and seek to dismiss the songwriter's claims.
The lawsuit demands a share of profits from "Janice STFU" and accuses Drake, his label OVO Sound, and Universal Music Group of copyright infringement.
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