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Janice STFU is the biggest hit Drake has released in years, but a lawsuit filed last week alleges the Toronto rapper stole the hook — an allegation his team strongly denies.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claims the chorus was written by Aviel (Avi) Hirschfield, a Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist and producer who had worked with Drake before.
It claims Hirschfield was inspired to write the lyrics and melody while driving a loaned luxury Maybach to Seattle and listening to I Follow Rivers by Lykke Li, an artist Drake has sampled before, and someone Hirschfield thought he may be open to interpolating again.
Hirschfield then allegedly recorded a demo with his original vocals over an audio file produced by a duo known for their work with Drake, FnZ. He sent it to multiple people hoping it would get to Drake.
Later, the lawsuit alleges, Hirschfield heard the song Janice STFU and “was stunned to hear Drake perform word-forword, note-for-note, the exact same chorus that he (Avi) had recorded and sent around to FnZ and other producers who work with Drake. “
The Toronto rapper’s team says these allegations are completely false.
How similar are the two tracks? The version created by Hirschfield has been leaked online, and you can listen below.
Compare that to the video for Janice STFU released by Drake.
Janice STFU debuted in May at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The ICEMAN track, is Drake’s 14th chart-topper, and officially broke his tie with Michael Jackson, for the most No. 1 hits by a male solo artist.
Drake even held a series of parties to apologize to people named Janice, who had been hounded by the song.
Hirschfield was not given a co-writing credit, and he was denied a share of the song’s revenues.
Representatives for Drake said he has “no connection or knowledge” of Hirschfield, telling Billboard, which first reported this story, “Let us be absolutely clear: These allegations are categorically, unequivocally and completely denied.
“There is not one iota of truth to these accusations, and we reject every attempt to portray these claims as established facts.”
Universal Music Group, which is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, has not responded to a request for comment by CBC News.
