Key Takeaways
- Drake’s team categorically denied stealing the hook for “Janice STFU,” calling the lawsuit a “manufactured and baseless attempt” to exploit his career.
- Grammy-winning producer Aviel Calev Hirschfield claims he sent the chorus to producers in Drake’s circle before the song surfaced and alleges the hooks match in lyrics, melody, and cadence.
- Hirschfield seeks profits and damages from Drake and his label partners over the chart-topping track, which has surpassed 300 million Spotify streams.
Drake has responded to a copyright claim over one of the biggest songs of the year, denying allegations that he stole a hook.
In a statement to TMZ, Drake’s rep said, “These allegations are categorically, unequivocally, and unequivocally denied. There is not one iota of truth to these accusations.”
The rep added that the lawsuit is a “manufactured and baseless attempt” to exploit the rapper’s name and career to get attention.
“Drake wrote this song and has no connection or knowledge of this person, full stop,” his team added.
Aviel Calev Hirschfield filed the complaint Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, naming Drake, OVO Sound, UMG Recordings and Universal Music Publishing as defendants.
Hirschfield is a Portland-based hip-hop artist, producer, and engineer who has won a Grammy, and he is no stranger to Drake's orbit. He co-wrote and produced "Heated" on Beyoncé’s Renaissance alongside him.
He claims the hook was written with Drake in mind, the idea arriving after he heard Lykke Li's "I Follow Rivers" on a drive to Seattle.
The complaint’s timeline is as follows: Hirschfield composed the eight-line chorus between December 2025 and January 2026 over an FnZ instrumental, finished the recording on or about January 25, and sent it to FnZ and other producers in Drake's circle. No one replied, per the filing.
He registered the work with the Copyright Office effective July 21, 2026. By then he had already heard the song that set off the dispute, first encountering "Janice STFU" on or about May 15.
Hirschfield alleges the two choruses are "literally identical" in lyrics, melody, and cadence, and says he handed Drake's representatives his stems with the metadata intact.
According to the complaint, Drake's camp pushed back by asserting the rapper wrote the hook himself, accusing Hirschfield of manipulating that metadata and sending a cease-and-desist letter demanding he stop publicly claiming authorship.
"Janice STFU" is one of the year’s biggest songs, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spending two weeks there, then logging 20 weeks atop Hot Rap Songs, Drake's longest-leading rap chart-topper, and racking up over 300 million Spotify streams.
Hirschfield is seeking disgorgement of profits, actual or enhanced statutory damages, interest, and attorneys' fees.
