Songwriter Sues Drake Over ‘Janice STFU’ Chorus

Songwriter Aviel Calev Hirschfield has sued Drake and several music companies, alleging that the chorus of the song “Janice STFU” copies lyrics, melody and cadence from a demo he sent to producers. Drake’s representative denies the allegations and says Drake wrote the song. The competing accounts have not been resolved in court. The copyright lawsuit was filed October 16 in California federal court against Drake, OVO Sound LLC, UMG Recordings Inc. and Universal Music Publishing Inc. Hirschfield, who records professionally as GoodbyeCalev, alleges he created the demo for Drake and sent it to producers associated with the rapper before “Janice STFU” was released in May. According to the complaint, Hirschfield developed the lyrics and melody over an instrumental supplied by production duo FNZ, completed a recording around January 25, 2026, and sent it to FNZ and other Drake collaborators. He says he received no response and later recognized what he considered the same chorus in the released track. The complaint describes the two choruses as identical in lyrics, melody and cadence. Hirschfield’s filing says his manager provided recording stems and metadata to support his...