Drake Copyright Suit Takes a Turn as Reference Track Leaks

The reference track at the center of a lawsuit accusing Drake of stealing the chorus for "Janice STFU" leaked overnight on X. The recording was made by plaintiff Aviel Hirschfield, a Grammy-nominated songwriter who, like Drake, contributed to Beyoncé's "Heated." Complex was the first outlet to report the leak.

The leak matters because it's now public. A legal representative for Hirschfield confirmed to Pitchfork that the leaked recording — already filed publicly as an exhibit in the lawsuit — matches the version submitted as evidence. In the leaked track, the disputed chorus begins around the 45-second mark.

What does Hirschfield actually allege?

The mechanism here is a familiar one in music copyright disputes: the reference track (a songwriter's rough demonstration recording, sent around in hope of placement). Hirschfield claims he sent his vocal take — which introduces a prominent interpolation (a re-recorded borrowing of an existing melody) of Lykke Li's "I Follow Rivers" — to production duo FnZ and other Drake associates, hoping it would reach the rapper.

When the finished song came out, the lawsuit claims, "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." Hirschfield says he then asked for a co-writer credit and retroactive publishing splits — the royalty shares songwriters earn from a composition — and was turned away. He claims his metadata will prove his work on the track pre-dates Drake's.

How has Drake's side responded?

Drake's team denies that anyone else was involved in writing "Janice STFU," despite clear similarities between the reference track and the finished song. In a statement to Billboard, his camp said he has "no connection or knowledge" of Hirschfield, and went further: "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."

Drake's label, Universal Music Group, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

What does this change for the case?

The stakes are high. "Janice STFU" spent two weeks atop the Hot 100 this spring — the rapper's biggest hit in years — which makes the publishing splits at issue worth real money. The public leak also means listeners can now compare the two recordings themselves, starting at that 45-second mark, before any court weighs in. Whether Hirschfield's metadata and the leaked exhibit hold up against Drake's blanket denial will shape how far this dispute travels.