One of 2026's biggest rap hits is now the subject of a federal copyright suit. On Friday, October 16, 2026, songwriter and producer Aviel Calev Hirschfield, known as Avi, sued Drake, alleging that the chorus of the chart-topping Iceman single “Janice STFU” is “literally identical” to a demo he says he recorded and sent to producers in Drake's circle at the start of the year. Drake's team has denied the allegations.
What the complaint says
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, according to Complex, and names Drake, his company OVO Sound, UMG Recordings and Universal Music Publishing as defendants. Universal is the parent of Drake's label, Republic Records, and his publisher, Universal Music Publishing Group, Billboard reported. Hirschfield is represented by Gregory Korn and Jonathan Steinsapir of Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
According to the filing, Hirschfield wrote the eight-line hook in December 2025 and January 2026 over an instrumental he had received from FNZ, the producer duo of Michael “Finatik” Mulé and Isaac “Zac” De Boni, who work often with Drake. He says he finished the recording on or about January 25, 2026, and sent it to FNZ and other producers in Drake's circle, and that no one replied. The demo interpolates Lykke Li's 2011 song “I Follow Rivers,” as does the released track, which credits FNZ as co-writers.
Hirschfield says he first heard “Janice STFU” on or about May 15, 2026, when Iceman arrived on streaming services. “Fifteen seconds in, Avi was stunned to hear Drake perform word-for-word, note-for-note, beat-by-beat, the exact same chorus that he (Avi) had recorded and sent,” the complaint reads. He registered his work with the U.S. Copyright Office effective July 21, 2026, Complex reported.
The metadata fight
The suit says Hirschfield asked for a co-writer credit and publishing splits and handed Drake's representatives his stems with the metadata intact. According to the complaint, Drake's side maintained that the rapper wrote the hook himself, accused Hirschfield of manipulating the file metadata, and sent him a cease-and-desist letter demanding he stop claiming authorship in public. The complaint calls that position “absurd” and says such a deception “would constitute career suicide by Avi.” Hirschfield is not a stranger to Drake's credits: Billboard notes he was previously listed alongside Drake as a co-writer on Beyoncé's 2022 track “Heated.”
He is seeking disgorgement of profits, actual or enhanced statutory damages, interest and attorneys' fees, Complex reported.
Drake's response
“Let us be absolutely clear: These allegations are categorically, unequivocally and completely denied,” Drake's team said in a statement to Billboard. “There is not one iota of truth to these accusations, and we reject every attempt to portray these claims as established facts.” The statement added that the team believes the suit is a “manufactured and baseless attempt” to exploit Drake's success for money and attention, and that “Drake wrote this song and has no connection or knowledge of this person, full stop.” Universal did not immediately respond to Billboard's request for comment.
The stakes are high because of how big the song became. “Janice STFU” spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 20 weeks atop Hot Rap Songs, Drake's longest run at the top of that chart, and Complex reports it has passed 300 million Spotify streams. None of the claims in the complaint have been tested in court, and no hearing date has been reported. For songwriters who pitch demos into big-name sessions, the case puts a spotlight on the paper trail, from file timestamps to registration dates, that can decide who gets credit when a hook travels.