Chris Brown Spared Immediate Jail Time After Guilty Plea in British Court

Chris Brown performs at Jamaica National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, on Aug. 27, 2023. The R&B singer received an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for one year, Monday in London after pleading guilty to affray in a 2023 nightclub attack. (Pelpa Time Production/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0)

Chris Brown avoided immediate prison time Monday after a London judge sentenced the R&B singer to eight months behind bars, suspended for one year, for attacking a music producer with a tequila bottle at a nightclub in 2023.

Brown, 37, appeared at Southwark Crown Court, where Judge Tony Baumgartner imposed the sentence following the singer's July guilty plea to affray, a criminal offense involving unlawful violence or threats that cause people to fear for their safety.

The suspended sentence means Brown will not immediately go to prison but could be required to serve the term if he violates its conditions or commits another offense.

The case stemmed from a confrontation at Tape, a nightclub in London's Mayfair district, on Feb. 19, 2023.

OFFICIAL POLICE RECORD · OCT. 26, 2026

Metropolitan Police release nightclub security footage

Police released security video documenting the incident that led to the sentencing of Chris Brown and Omololu Akinlolu.

Content warning: The video contains physical violence.

View the original police video and media-use terms

Source: Metropolitan Police Service, London. Video duration: 1:37.

Prosecutors said Brown approached music producer Abraham Diaw on the dance floor and struck him twice in the head with a heavy glass tequila bottle.

The assault continued as Diaw attempted to get away, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Brown's friend and vocal coach, Omololu Akinlolu, joined the attack, punching Diaw before he was pushed to the floor and kicked.

Diaw required hospital treatment for injuries to his head and knee.

Security footage presented during the proceedings showed the attack, which prosecutors said lasted approximately 20 seconds.

Judge Baumgartner described Brown's use of the bottle as "plainly dangerous" and emphasized that the singer's fame and commercial success did not entitle him to preferential treatment.

The judge also considered mitigating circumstances, including Brown's guilty plea, employment, charity work and recent conduct, according to courtroom reporting by the Associated Press.

Akinlolu, 40, received a four-month prison sentence, also suspended for 12 months. Both men were ordered to pay 1,500 pounds in court costs.

The guilty pleas resolved the criminal prosecution without a trial on the more serious charges the men had previously denied.

Brown had been arrested in Manchester in May 2025 after returning to Britain for a concert tour, more than two years after the nightclub incident.

British authorities said investigators had made repeated unsuccessful attempts to interview Brown and Akinlolu before arranging their arrests when they returned to the country.

In a statement released Monday, Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah of London's Metropolitan Police said investigators had remained determined to bring the men before the courts despite the passage of time.

The sentencing closes a criminal case that had threatened to disrupt Brown's touring career.

He has continued performing internationally and is scheduled to tour the United States with Usher.

Brown left court Monday without being taken into custody.

The Metropolitan Police also released security footage of the incident, providing a public record of the violence at the center of the prosecution.

Cassie Wins Dismissal Motion in Lawsuit Involving Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Singer Cassie Ventura is shown in a May 27, 2021, photograph shared on her Instagram account. A federal judge granted her motion to dismiss claims in a civil lawsuit involving Sean "Diddy" Combs on Oct. 21, 2026. (Photo via Cassie Ventura's Instagram)

A federal judge has granted singer Cassie Ventura's request to dismiss claims against her in a $35 million civil lawsuit involving Sean "Diddy" Combs, while allowing the broader case to continue.

U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang granted Ventura's motion Wednesday during a hearing in Los Angeles, according to court minutes reviewed by SuperThrowbackParty.net.

The Oct. 21 ruling was recorded in a one-page document filed in the Central District of California in the case brought by Clayton Howard, a man who says he was hired to participate in sexual encounters involving Combs and Ventura.

ORIGINAL FEDERAL COURT RECORD

Howard v. Combs et al. — Oct. 21, 2026

U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang granted Cassandra Ventura's dismissal motion and separately ruled on a motion involving Sean Combs and corporate defendants.

Central District of California · Case 2:25-cv-06031 · Document 181 · One page

Read the court's original ruling (PDF)

Howard filed the lawsuit in June 2025, alleging that he was subjected to sexual exploitation, coercion and abuse during encounters he says took place over several years.

The allegations have not been established as fact by the court.

Ventura's attorneys challenged Howard's claims, arguing that his allegations did not establish the necessary legal basis to hold her liable for sex trafficking or related misconduct.

The defense also pointed to Howard's own descriptions of Combs exercising control over the encounters, arguing that those accounts did not establish that Ventura had coerced him.

The court granted Ventura's dismissal motion, identified as document 163 in the record.

But the ruling was not a dismissal of the entire lawsuit.

The judge granted part of a separate dismissal motion filed by Combs and corporate defendants and denied other portions. The court allowed an amendment within 14 days and directed Combs to file an answer within the same period.

The written minutes refer to an oral ruling delivered during the hearing and do not specify whether Ventura's dismissal was with prejudice, which would generally prevent the same claims from being brought against her again.

That distinction could matter if Howard seeks to pursue additional claims.

The judge also denied Howard's request to substitute another proposed amended complaint and said the court would consider a separate request involving an additional response to defense arguments.

Howard has repeatedly revised his lawsuit as the court has considered challenges to its allegations.

The $35 million figure represents damages sought in the litigation, according to AllHipHop's reporting. It is not a court award, settlement or finding that any defendant owes Howard money.

The ruling comes amid continuing civil litigation stemming from allegations involving Combs, whose legal troubles have generated a series of overlapping but separate cases.

Ventura previously testified in Combs' federal criminal trial. The allegations and procedural outcome in Howard's civil lawsuit must be evaluated independently of that prosecution.

The latest court action establishes one immediate result: Ventura's dismissal motion was granted, but the broader litigation has not concluded.

A$AP Rocky’s ‘Shroom Clouds’ Draws Accusations of Using Artist’s Footage

A$AP Rocky's latest music video is facing allegations that its creators used another artist's work without permission, turning a brief psychedelic sequence into a dispute over artificial intelligence, ownership and credit.

The controversy centers on a scene roughly 2 minutes, 25 seconds into the video for "Shroom Clouds," released Oct. 19. It features a figure amid concentric rings in a grassy field, with the surrounding landscape appearing to bend into a tunnel.

The disputed visual sequence appears about 2 minutes, 25 seconds into A$AP Rocky's official "Shroom Clouds" music video. (A$AP Rocky/YouTube)

Visual effects artist Cache Bunny says the sequence came from a 2019 project he created with director Ari Fararooy and parkour athlete Jason Paul.

His allegation goes beyond a shared visual idea.

In Instagram posts circulated over the weekend, Cache Bunny accused Rocky's production team of taking the earlier footage, processing it with AI and replacing Paul with the rapper while retaining details of the original landscape.

The posts highlighted apparent similarities in the grass, shadows and camera perspective. The earlier work was published in April 2019, more than seven years before Rocky's video.

The original Instagram post remains publicly linked, and Rocky's official video contains the disputed sequence. The similarities have drawn attention from other creators, but the available comparison does not independently establish how the newer footage was produced or whether the original material was licensed.

The video's own credits, however, confirm that artificial intelligence was part of the production.

Rocky shares directing credit with Aisultan Seitov and Pietro Biz Biasia. North of Now is listed as the production company, with additional postproduction and visual-effects contributors. The credits identify Spike and Red, along with Ces, as AI artists.

The use of AI in a production does not establish that another artist's work was copied, and the credits do not identify which contributors created the disputed sequence.

On Monday, a statement attributed to AWGE creative director Robert Gallardo began circulating online. A screenshot and subsequent published reporting attributed to him an acknowledgment that a breakdown in reviewing AI-generated material had resulted in work associated with Cache Bunny appearing without attribution.

ORIGINAL SOURCE · APRIL 2019

Ari Fararooy's original video

The earlier visual work at the center of the dispute was published years before "Shroom Clouds."

View the 2019 Instagram post

The statement also described an effort to contact the artist to discuss resolving the matter. Its original Instagram Story could not be independently authenticated.

The controversy arrives at an awkward moment for Rocky, whose music videos have long been an important part of his reputation as a visual artist.

In an interview with Complex before "Shroom Clouds" was released, the rapper discussed artificial intelligence's place in music production while emphasizing his preference for hands-on creative work.

"I prefer to do things myself, practically," he said.

The song, featuring reggie and Jeremih, is part of the continuing rollout surrounding Rocky's album "Don't Be Dumb."

No publicly verified copyright lawsuit or licensing agreement involving the disputed sequence has emerged.

For now, the unresolved questions concern not simply whether AI was used, but whether another creator's work entered the production without permission, who authorized its use and what steps will be taken to address the complaint.

Soul Train Awards Return After Three Years With Chaka Khan Among Honorees

Chaka Khan is featured in promotional artwork for the 2026 Soul Train Awards. The Chicago-born singer will receive the Classic Soul Honor when the ceremony returns to her hometown. (Courtesy of BET)

Chaka Khan will receive the Classic Soul Honor at the 2026 Soul Train Awards, bringing one of R&B's most celebrated voices into the spotlight as the show returns to her hometown of Chicago.

BET announced the honor Thursday. The awards, last held in 2023, will be taped in Chicago and broadcast Nov. 27 on BET and, for the first time, CBS.

The homecoming brings together two pieces of Chicago music history.

Khan, born Yvette Stevens on the city's South Side, emerged in the early 1970s as the lead singer of Rufus. Around the same time, Don Cornelius was turning a local television dance show into a national showcase for Black music.

"Soul Train" debuted on Chicago station WCIU-TV in 1970 and entered national syndication the following year. For decades, the program gave soul, funk, R&B and eventually hip-hop performers a television platform that few other shows offered.

Khan's own career would cross many of those same musical boundaries.

With Rufus, she helped create funk and soul classics including "Tell Me Something Good," written by Stevie Wonder, "Sweet Thing" and "Ain't Nobody." Her solo career began in 1978 with "I'm Every Woman," but her 1984 recording of Prince's "I Feel for You" made an especially important connection between established R&B and the emerging sounds of hip-hop.

The song brought together Khan's vocals, Wonder's harmonica and a rap by Grandmaster Melle Mel, whose repeated introduction of her name became one of the record's most memorable features.

More than four decades later, Khan is still working that connection.

Her latest album, "Chakzilla," released in September, features Snoop Dogg on "Boogie's in My Soul." The rapper opens the track with another playful chant of her name, recalling Melle Mel's contribution to the 1984 hit. The album also features collaborations with Sia and Lenny Kravitz.

And this isn't Khan's first trip to the Soul Train Awards as an honoree.

At the 2009 ceremony, she received an Icon Award and was celebrated with a tribute featuring Erykah Badu, Fantasia, Ledisi, Angie Stone and Melle Mel.

"Chaka Khan is the embodiment of soul music," BET President Louis Carr said in Thursday's announcement, citing her work with Rufus and the generations of performers influenced by her solo recordings.

The latest recognition follows Khan's 2023 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year.

Actor and comedian Anthony Anderson will host the revived awards ceremony, which returns after a three-year absence with new fan-voted categories and an expanded television audience.

The Soul Train Awards will air Friday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m. Eastern on BET and CBS.

Eminem's Former Engineer Admits Selling Unreleased Music for $50,000

Eminem is photographed at his Mom's Spaghetti restaurant in September 2021. A former studio employee pleaded guilty Thursday to selling the rapper's unreleased recordings. (Brendan_linden/Wikimedia Commons)

Joseph Strange helped operate the computer system that held Eminem's unreleased recordings. Now he has admitted selling music taken from that system for about $50,000.

Strange, 48, of Holly, Michigan, pleaded guilty Thursday to criminal copyright infringement in federal court in Detroit, admitting his role in a scheme that put music from the rapper's private studio into the hands of online buyers.

He faces up to five years in prison.

The guilty plea follows an FBI investigation that began in January 2025, when employees at Eminem's recording studio in Ferndale, Michigan, discovered unreleased songs circulating online.

Strange had worked for Eminem, whose legal name is Marshall Mathers, from approximately 2007 to 2021. His responsibilities included helping establish and operate the computer system used to store music in various stages of development.

That work gave him access to password-protected hard drives containing recordings that had never been cleared for public release.

EMINEM MUSIC LEAK | FEDERAL CASE

$50,000

Approximate sales

10+

Files copied and sold

8M+

Recorded accesses

$750K+

Estimated infringement amount

Sources: Justice Department and FBI criminal complaint. The infringement estimate is not the seller's profit or a court-ordered damages award.

According to the Justice Department, Strange copied at least 10 audio files without authorization and sold them to buyers over the internet during July and August 2024. The transactions totaled approximately $50,000.

The scope of the leak became clearer when FBI agents began tracing the music back to its source.

A criminal complaint filed in March 2025 described how investigators identified buyers, reviewed online conversations and followed Bitcoin payments connected to the sales.

One buyer, using the name Doja Rat, told investigators that a group of Eminem fans pooled money to purchase unreleased recordings from Strange. The buyer said the group acquired approximately 25 songs for about $50,000.

By the time the case became public, more than 25 recordings originally created between 1999 and 2018 had surfaced online without authorization, according to the FBI complaint.

Agents searching Strange's home in January 2025 recovered hard drives containing unreleased music and handwritten lyric sheets attributed to Eminem, the complaint said.

The leaked recordings were not necessarily songs Eminem intended to release.

Some remained works in progress, while others had undergone professional preparation, including studio mastering. Prosecutors said no commercial release was necessarily imminent or certain.

When the music first surfaced in January 2025, Eminem's longtime spokesperson, Dennis Dennehy, described the recordings to XXL as "demos, experiments and ideas" never intended for public consumption.

The exposure was considerable.

Streaming data cited by the Justice Department showed that the infringing audio files had been accessed more than 8 million times as of November 2025.

Prosecutors estimated the infringement amount at no less than $750,000. That figure is an estimated valuation of the infringement, not the amount Strange received from the sales or a court-ordered damages award.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said Strange had abused a position of trust, profiting from recordings their creator had not authorized for release.

Strange's attorney, Wade Fink, offered a different perspective on the circumstances surrounding his client's conduct.

"It is a far more complicated and nuanced matter than a man just unabashedly stealing," Fink told Reuters on Thursday.
Strange is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 27, 2027. The judge will determine his punishment after considering federal sentencing guidelines and other applicable factors.

Las Vegas Honors the R&B Group That Took Its Area Code Worldwide

LeMisha Fields and Kameelah “Meelah” Williams of R&B group 702 are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album, “No Doubt,” with a hometown honor and weekend performances in Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy of Troutman Music Group)

Thirty years after taking their hometown's area code to the R&B charts, the women of 702 are coming home to a welcome only Las Vegas could give them. Thirty years after taking their hometown's area code to the R&B charts, the women of 702 are coming home to a welcome only Las Vegas could give them.

The group behind “Steelo,” “Get It Together” and “Where My Girls At?” will be honored Thursday at the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, where Clark County officials plan to recognize three decades of music that helped bring the city's R&B talent to an international audience.

Commissioner William McCurdy II is scheduled to present a proclamation to Kameelah “Meelah” Williams and LeMisha Fields during the 5 p.m. ceremony. The county also plans to pay tribute to Irish Grinstead, Fields' younger sister and longtime bandmate, who died in September 2023 at age 43.

The landmark sign will be illuminated in the group's honor.

It's a fitting tribute to an act whose name has always been a declaration of where it came from.

702 released its debut album, “No Doubt,” on Oct. 8, 1996, through Motown and Biv 10 Records. The album went gold, pairing R&B harmonies with hip-hop production and contributions from a young Missy Elliott.

702 performs “Steelo,” featuring Missy Elliott, from the group's 1996 debut album, “No Doubt.” (702 Official/YouTube)

Elliott wrote and appeared on “Steelo,” which sampled the Police's “Voices Inside My Head.” The album also produced “Get It Together,” a Donell Jones-penned ballad that reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The singers were still teenagers when they recorded much of that music, balancing schoolwork in Las Vegas with studio sessions in Los Angeles.

In an interview published Tuesday by Las Vegas Weekly, Fields recalled leaving school, flying to California to record and returning home in time for classes. While one member was in the recording booth, the others did homework. Some sessions stretched into the early morning hours.

The demanding schedule produced music that would long outlast the teenage experiences behind it.

In 1999, 702 scored its biggest crossover hit with the Elliott-written “Where My Girls At?,” which climbed to No. 4 on the Hot 100. The song helped propel the group's self-titled second album to platinum status and became a fixture of an era when female R&B groups were among popular music's dominant voices.

For Williams and Fields, the songs have taken on different meanings with age.

702 performs “Get It Together,” a single from its debut album, “No Doubt.” (702 Official/YouTube)

Williams told Las Vegas Weekly that motherhood, relationships and heartbreak have given the material a depth she could not fully appreciate as a teenager. Songs that once described emotions she was just beginning to understand now reflect experiences she has lived.

But the anniversary also brings an absence that cannot be overlooked.

Irish's death left the surviving performers to navigate the stage without a voice that helped define 702's sound. Fields said continuing to perform is part of honoring her sister, not leaving her behind.

“She would want us to continue and live out the legacy of 702,” Fields told the publication.

The homecoming extends beyond Thursday's ceremony.

702 is scheduled to perform Friday at On the Record inside Park MGM, followed by a '90s-themed skate party Saturday at Skate Rock City. Motown also has released a limited-edition 30th-anniversary vinyl pressing of “No Doubt,” including three additional mixes.

The festivities offer a chance to celebrate a group whose music has followed its fans from their teenage years into adulthood, even as the women behind those songs have endured changes of their own.

Three decades after turning a telephone prefix into a musical identity, 702 is returning to the place where it all began.

ThIs time, Las Vegas is welcoming them home — and honoring the sister who won't be there to celebrate.

From NFL Critic to Halftime Kingmaker, Jay-Z May Finally Take the Super Bowl Stage

Jay-Z visits the New York state Capitol in Albany, N.Y., on May 19, 2025. The rapper reportedly is expected to headline the 2027 Super Bowl halftime show. (Photo: New York Senate Media Services/CC BY 2.0; cropped)

Jay-Z once told the NFL he didn't need its biggest stage. Seven years after going into business with the league, he reportedly is preparing to headline it himself.

The Brooklyn rapper and Roc Nation founder is expected to perform at the 2027 Super Bowl halftime show, according to Puck, a subscription-based publication specializing in insider reporting on entertainment, media and business. The outlet reported Tuesday that Jay-Z selected himself for the performance.

Deadline separately reported that a music industry source confirmed Jay-Z would headline. Neither the NFL nor Roc Nation has officially announced a performer.

ORIGINAL REPORTING | PUCK

Jay-Z Picks Jay-Z for Super Bowl LXI

Dave Brooks reports that multiple sources say Jay-Z has selected himself for the 2027 halftime show.

Source: Puck | Oct. 20, 2026

If confirmed, the booking would complete a remarkable reversal for an artist who rejected the Super Bowl before becoming one of the most influential figures behind its halftime entertainment.

In 2018, Jay-Z addressed his decision on “APESHIT,” his collaboration with Beyoncé: “I said no to the Super Bowl. You need me, I don't need you.”

The refusal came during a period of growing controversy over the NFL's treatment of players protesting racial injustice, led by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Jay-Z later described objections to the league's proposed performance conditions as another reason he declined.

By August 2019, however, Jay-Z was sitting beside NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, announcing a partnership that would give Roc Nation a role in shaping the league's major entertainment events, including the Super Bowl.

FROM THE ARCHIVES | NFL

Jay-Z's Roc Nation enters partnership with NFL

The league's 2019 announcement describes Roc Nation's role in advising on major performances and supporting social justice initiatives.

Source: NFL | August 2019

The agreement also included work with Inspire Change, the NFL's social justice initiative.

The partnership drew immediate criticism from those who questioned why Jay-Z would work with the league while Kaepernick remained unsigned.

Jay-Z defended the arrangement as an opportunity to pursue change through the NFL's platform.

He also made clear that the negotiations had not begun with a desire to perform.

“First thing I said to Roger was, ‘If this is about me performing at the Super Bowl, then we can just end this conversation now,’” Jay-Z said at the 2019 announcement.

Instead, the agreement put Roc Nation in a position to help shape who would take the stage.

The company has since helped produce a succession of halftime shows featuring hip-hop and R&B stars, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Usher and Kendrick Lamar.

Those performances reflected a significant change for a genre that had spent decades fighting for mainstream recognition even as it became one of popular music's dominant forces.

Jay-Z remained behind the scenes.

According to Puck, that could change Feb. 14, when Super Bowl LXI takes place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The publication reported that Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber also were considered for the performance. Representatives for the NFL and Roc Nation did not respond to its requests for comment.

The timing adds another layer to the story.

Jay-Z is scheduled to perform Friday and Saturday at SoFi Stadium as part of a yearlong celebration marking the 30th anniversary of his 1996 debut, “Reasonable Doubt,” and the 25th anniversary of “The Blueprint.”

The venue will host the Super Bowl less than four months later.

Puck's report also raises a question about the unusual relationship between the artist and the event he may headline.

Roc Nation's original agreement called for the company to advise the NFL on performer selection. Although Puck described Jay-Z as the principal decision-maker, the league's final approval process has not been publicly detailed.

For Jay-Z, 56, a halftime appearance would bring together several chapters of a career that has taken him from Brooklyn's rap scene to the highest levels of the entertainment business.

It would also return him to a stage he once said he could do without.

This time, he would arrive not just as a performer, but as someone who helped reshape the show.

Drake Sued Over ‘Janice Stfu’ by Fellow Beyoncé ‘Heated’ Songwriter

Drake is shown in a scene from the official music video for “Janice STFU.” The rapper faces a federal copyright lawsuit alleging he copied the song's chorus from another songwriter's recording. Drake denies the allegations. (Drake/YouTube)

A Grammy-winning songwriter who shares writing credits with Drake on Beyoncé's “Heated” has sued the rapper over one of his biggest hits, alleging that the chorus of “Janice STFU” was taken from a demo he submitted to producers in Drake's circle months before the song was released.
Aviel Calev Hirschfield, a Portland, Oregon, producer who records as GoodbyeCalev, filed the copyright infringement lawsuit Friday in federal court in Los Angeles against Drake, OVO Sound, UMG Recordings and Universal Music Publishing.

Drake's representatives emphatically deny the allegations.

The dispute centers on eight lines Hirschfield says he wrote and recorded in January for a song he hoped Drake would perform. According to the complaint, he sent the finished recording to several producers who had worked with the rapper, including the production duo FnZ, but received no response.

Then came May 15.

Hirschfield says he was listening to Drake's newly released album, “Iceman,” when he heard “Janice STFU” and immediately recognized the chorus.

The lyrics, melody and cadence were identical to his recording, he alleges.

The lawsuit places an unusually detailed account of the song's creation at the center of the dispute, including a drive to Seattle, a Lykke Li recording and digital files that Hirschfield says establish when his vocals were recorded.

Hirschfield alleges that hearing Li's 2011 song “I Follow Rivers” inspired him to develop a new chorus with Drake in mind. Working over an instrumental supplied by FnZ members Michael Mulé and Isaac De Boni, he completed the recording around Jan. 25.

“Janice STFU” also interpolates “I Follow Rivers,” but the complaint concerns Hirschfield's claimed original lyrics and vocal melody, not ownership of Li's song.

Drake's official music video for "Janice STFU," released May 15, 2026. A songwriter alleges that the song's chorus was copied from his earlier recording. Drake denies the claim. (Drake/YouTube)

After the release, Hirschfield's representatives supplied Drake's team with the recording and individual audio tracks, known as stems, containing metadata that he contends establishes when the work was created.

Rather than acknowledge his contribution, Hirschfield alleges, Drake's representatives questioned the authenticity of that metadata and sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding that he stop publicly claiming authorship.

Drake's camp tells a very different story.

“These allegations are categorically, unequivocally, and completely denied,” a representative told TMZ.

The representative said Drake wrote the song himself and had no knowledge of Hirschfield, calling the lawsuit an attempt to exploit the rapper's success.

That denial raises an important distinction in Hirschfield's account: Although he and Drake are both credited as writers on “Heated,” from Beyoncé's 2022 album “Renaissance,” the lawsuit does not claim Hirschfield personally delivered the disputed recording to Drake.

Instead, Hirschfield alleges that Drake had access to it through producers who received the demo.

Their connection through “Heated” is documented. Hirschfield told Portland's Willamette Week in 2023 that his manager had circulated one of his tracks before Beyoncé selected it for her album.

Another detail could become important as the case progresses.

Drake previewed an early version of what became “Janice STFU” during a September 2025 livestream, months before Hirschfield says he finished his chorus. That earlier version, titled “That's Just How I Feel,” did not appear to contain the eight disputed lines, according to a transcription published at the time.

Whether Hirschfield's recording reached Drake's collaborators, and when the disputed chorus took its final form, remain central unanswered questions.

The stakes are substantial. “Janice STFU” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent two weeks atop the chart. The lawsuit says the recording has surpassed 300 million Spotify streams.

Hirschfield is seeking damages and profits attributable to the alleged infringement, along with attorney fees. He has not specified a dollar amount.

His recording was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office effective July 21, more than two months after Drake released the song. That timing could restrict the availability of certain statutory damages and attorney fees under federal copyright law, although it does not by itself resolve the infringement claim.

The lawsuit does not seek an order removing the song from streaming platforms.