Drake Sued Over ‘Janice STFU’: Songwriter Claims Chorus Is ‘Literally Identical’ to His Demo
Songwriter Aviel Calev Hirschfield has sued Drake, OVO Sound and Universal Music Group, alleging that the chorus of Drake’s hit “Janice STFU” copies a demo he sent to the rapper’s team. The case matters because Hirschfield says he was denied both credit and payment for his work on a song that became a major chart success.
Hirschfield says he wrote the demo in December 2025 and January 2026 over music from producers FNZ, then sent it to Drake’s collaborators without receiving a reply. He alleges the released chorus matches his demo’s lyrics and melody, and says he supplied stems and metadata when seeking a co-writing credit and publishing share. “Janice STFU” spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 20 weeks atop the Hot Rap Songs chart; Drake’s representative declined to comment, while UMG had not responded to a request for comment.
- A songwriter alleges Drake copied his demo for “Janice STFU”.
- He is seeking credit and a share of the song’s profits.
- The track topped the Hot Rap Songs chart for 20 weeks.
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Songwriting credits and publishing rights recognise who wrote a song and can entitle them to a share of its income. A demo is an early recording used to show how a song might sound; stems are separate audio tracks, and metadata can help identify who created them.
Aviel Calev Hirschfield says he sent a demo to people working with Drake and that the released chorus uses his lyrics and melody. He has brought a case against Drake, his OVO Sound label and Universal Music Group, seeking recognition and a share of the publishing income.
The dispute concerns how the music industry handles material shared with artists’ teams and how authorship is established when a song is released. “Janice STFU” achieved substantial chart success, which may make the question of credit and payment more consequential.
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The case for
If Hirschfield’s demo predates the released song and the chorus closely matches its lyrics and melody, he may have a strong claim that his creative work was used without proper credit or compensation. The chart success makes the stakes substantial, and his account of providing stems and metadata could help establish what he created and when.
The case against
A close resemblance and a prior submission do not by themselves prove that Drake or the other defendants copied the demo; the evidence would need to establish access, the extent of any similarity and how the released chorus was made. The defendants may have a different account of the song’s development, and a court can assess the competing evidence before any conclusion about credit or payment is justified.