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Ten days after a copyright lawsuit was filed against Drake, alleging he stole the chorus of Janice STFU, the lawsuit has been voluntarily dismissed.
It follows strenuous denials from Drake’s legal team — who refuted the claim from Aviel (Avi) Hirschfield, a Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist and producer who had worked with Drake in the past.
Court documents obtained by CBC News show Hirschfield and his legal team have now withdrawn their case, “in its entirety without prejudice.”
Previously, on Oct. 16, Hirschfield claimed he was inspired to write the lyrics and melody use in Janice STFU while driving a loaned luxury Maybach to Seattle and listening to I Follow Rivers by Lykke Li, an artist Drake had sampled before.
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.
The now-dimissed lawsuit alleged Hirschfield heard the song Janice STFU much later and “was stunned to hear Drake perform word-for-word, 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 has always maintained these allegations were completely false.
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 was denied a share of the song’s revenues.
Representatives for Drake said he has “no connection or knowledge” of Hirschfield, telling Billboard, “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.”
