Drake is facing a copyright lawsuit over “Janice STFU,” with songwriter Aviel Calev Hirschfield alleging that the song’s chorus is identical to a demo he created for the rapper in both lyrics and melody. As reported by Billboard, the songwriter claims the track uses his work without credit or compensation.
According to Billboard, Hirschfield wrote the demo between December 2025 and January 2026, developing a chorus inspired by Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers.” The songwriter claims Drake and the other defendants have refused to acknowledge his contribution and instead maintain that Drake wrote the chorus himself.
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“Janice STFU” arrived on May 15, as the fourth track on Drake’s studio album Iceman. The song was subsequently serviced to U.S. rhythmic contemporary radio on May 19 as the album’s second single, quickly becoming one of the project’s biggest commercial highlights. The track opening at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Janice STFU” became the Drake’s 14th Hot 100 No. 1 as well as his 10th song to debut at No. 1. The song also marked his first track to spend multiple weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 since “In My Feelings” in 2018, which spent 10 weeks atop the chart.
Iceman delivered similarly substantial results upon arrival. The album opened with 463,000 equivalent album units in the United States and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Drake tied Taylor Swift for the most No. 1 albums by a solo artist with 15. Meanwhile, Habibti and Maid of Honour debuted at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, making Drake the first artist to occupy the Billboard 200’s entire Top 3 simultaneously.
Photo: Universal Music
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