Drake Sued Over “Janice STFU” By Songwriter Behind Beyoncé’s “Heated”

Drake faced a copyright lawsuit from a former collaborator who alleged the rapper copied his demo’s chorus for “Janice STFU” and had his lawyers demand that the songwriter stop claiming credit.

Songwriter and producer Aviel Calev Hirschfield, known professionally as GoodbyeCalev, sued Drake, OVO Sound LLC, UMG Recordings Inc. and Universal Music Publishing Inc. in California federal court on October 16.

GoodbyeCalev alleged the idea began when he heard Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers” during a drive to Seattle. With Drake in mind, he developed lyrics and a melody over an instrumental supplied by production duo FNZ.

According to the complaint, he finished recording around January 25, 2026, then sent the demo to FNZ and other Drake collaborators. He said he received no reply and first heard the released song around May 15.

“Janice STFU’s chorus is literally identical to the Copyrighted Work in lyrics, melody, and cadence,” the complaint alleged.

GoodbyeCalev said his manager supplied recording stems and metadata to support his claim. However, he alleged Drake’s representatives maintained the rapper wrote the chorus independently and suggested GoodbyeCalev had manipulated the files’ metadata.

“Such a deception would constitute career suicide by Avi,” the filing stated, using his nickname.

He also alleged Drake’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding he stop publicly claiming he wrote the chorus.

Billboard, which first reported the lawsuit, said a Drake representative declined to comment. UMG representatives did not immediately respond to the publication’s request for comment.

The disagreement followed an established songwriting connection. GoodbyeCalev and Drake shared writing credits on Beyoncé’s “Heated,” from her 2022 album Renaissance.

In a 2023 Willamette Week interview, the Portland producer described learning that Beyoncé had picked up a track his manager circulated. The success allowed him to reinvest in his studio after years working as a rapper, producer and engineer.

“Janice STFU” arrived on Iceman on May 15. Its interpolation of Li’s 2011 song had already drawn attention, but GoodbyeCalev’s complaint centered on the eight-line chorus he alleged he created for Drake.

The song became a major hit. Billboard reported that it spent two weeks atop the Hot 100 and 20 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs, Drake’s longest reign on the latter chart.

GoodbyeCalev requested damages, profits attributable to the alleged infringement and a jury trial. He did not specify a dollar amount in the complaint.