Drake is pushing back against a lawsuit accusing him of stealing the hook of his hit song “Janice STFU,” with the rapper’s team firmly denying the allegations and calling the case an attempt to profit from his success.
Producer Aviel Calev Hirschfield, who also goes by Avi, filed the lawsuit on Friday, according to a report by TMZ. He alleges that Drake used the lyrics and melody of a hook he had created without giving him credit or a share of the song’s earnings.
According to the complaint, Hirschfield recorded the hook in January 2026 and sent it to producers who had worked with Drake. He claims he later heard the same lyrics and melody in “Janice STFU,” which Drake released in May.
Hirschfield reportedly says he has audio files containing timestamps that support his account. He alleges that his attempts to obtain recognition and compensation did not result in an agreement.
Drake’s representatives have rejected the claims outright.
“These allegations are categorically, unequivocally, and completely denied. There is not one iota of truth to these accusations,” a representative for the rapper told TMZ.
The representative also described the lawsuit as a “manufactured and baseless attempt” to exploit Drake’s name and success for money and attention.
Drake’s team further stated: “Drake wrote this song and has no connection or knowledge of this person full stop.”
The dispute centres on competing accounts of how the song’s hook was created and whether Hirschfield’s alleged recording was used in Drake’s release. The producer’s allegations have not been established as fact, and Drake’s team has expressly denied them.
Copyright disputes involving songs can turn on evidence such as earlier recordings, communications between collaborators, access to musical material and similarities between the works. In this case, Hirschfield reportedly points to timestamped audio files, but the information provided does not establish what those files demonstrate or whether a court has assessed them.
For now, Drake’s camp is standing by its denial as the lawsuit moves into the legal process. The available report does not provide a response from Hirschfield to the rapper’s statement or details of the next court proceedings.
