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Drake is pushing back against allegations that he stole the hook for his song “Janice STFU.” The rapper has denied the claims after songwriter and producer Aviel Calev Hirschfield filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against him.
Hirschfield filed the lawsuit on Oct. 16, claiming he wrote the chorus with Drake in mind before the rapper released the track. However, Drake’s team has rejected the allegations, describing the lawsuit as baseless.
Drake’s team rejects copyright claims
On Monday, Oct. 19, Drake’s representatives issued a statement to XXL addressing the lawsuit. The team firmly denied that the rapper took Hirschfield’s work or had any connection to the songwriter.
The statement also challenged the credibility of the allegations and suggested the lawsuit was an attempt to benefit financially from Drake’s fame.
“Drake wrote this song and has no connection or knowledge of this person full stop,” his team said.
The denial comes as the legal dispute raises questions about who created the hook and whether Hirschfield can establish a connection between his original recording and Drake’s released song.
Songwriter claims he submitted the chorus to producers
According to the lawsuit, Hirschfield wrote the chorus in January, specifically with Drake in mind. He allegedly developed the lyrics over production from FnZ, the producers associated with “Janice STFU.”
Hirschfield claims he then sent the material back to FnZ and other producers who work with Drake. However, he says he received no response.
The complaint alleges that Hirschfield later heard “Janice STFU” on Drake’s Iceman album in May. After noticing similarities between the released song and his earlier work, he reportedly realized he had not received credit for the chorus.
Hirschfield then contacted Drake’s team to raise his concerns.
Lawsuit seeks credit and compensation
The complaint also claims Hirschfield provided Drake’s representatives with evidence to support his allegations. That evidence allegedly included audio stems from his original recording of the chorus.
Despite those efforts, Hirschfield alleges that Drake’s team refused to acknowledge him as the author of the lines or compensate him for their use.
He is seeking a jury trial as the legal dispute moves forward. However, the claims remain allegations, and no court ruling establishing infringement has been reported in the information provided.
Drake’s denial places the central issue of authorship at the heart of the case. The outcome may depend on the evidence presented by both sides, including the original recordings, communications with producers and the timeline of the song’s creation.
Drake faces allegations, but denies wrongdoing
Copyright disputes in music can involve questions about songwriting credits, access to earlier material and whether protected creative elements were used without permission. In this case, Hirschfield alleges that he shared his chorus with people connected to Drake’s production circle before “Janice STFU” appeared on the album.
Drake’s team, however, maintains that the rapper wrote the song himself and denies knowing Hirschfield.
For now, the two sides offer conflicting accounts of how the chorus was created. The lawsuit will need to establish whether Hirschfield’s work was used without authorization and whether the evidence supports his claims
Source: XXL Instagram post
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