Janice STFU
2026 single by Drake
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"Janice STFU" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake. It was initially released on May 15, 2026, as the fourth track on his ninth studio album Iceman, and was serviced to American rhythmic contemporary radio alongside "2 Hard 4 the Radio" on May 19, 2026, as the album's second single.[1] The song debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, the Canadian Hot 100, and the Billboard Global 200, with the former chart debut allowing Drake to break Michael Jackson's record for overall number one US hits for a male solo artist. [2]
| "Janice STFU" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Drake | ||||
| from the album Iceman | ||||
| Released | May 19, 2026 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Aubrey Graham | |||
| Drake singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Janice STFU" on YouTube | ||||
Background
Drake first previewed the song during a livestream titled "Iceman: Episode 3" on September 4, 2025, which was then titled "That's Just How I Feel".[3][4] It was repurposed into "Janice STFU" for the album.[4]
Drake previously sampled Lykke Li's song "Little Bit" for a song of the same name from his mixtape So Far Gone (2009). When co-writer Rick Nowels texted her about Drake's request to sample "I Follow Rivers", she initially thought he was trolling. In an interview with Rolling Stone after the release of Iceman, Li expressed fondness for music from Drake's earlier career, mentioning the songs "Marvins Room" and "Hotline Bling".[5]
Composition
In the song, Drake interpolates the chorus of "I Follow Rivers"[6] and heavily uses Auto-Tune.[4][7] He criticizes the negative gossip and comments surrounding his career following the escalation of his feud with Kendrick Lamar in 2024.[5] Drake notably directs criticism toward Lamar, accusing him of inauthenticity in his actions and appealing to "white kids" listening to his music out of guilt.[7][8][9] He ends several lines which address Lamar with the words "for real".[4] Besides Lamar, Drake takes a shot at rapper Jay-Z.[9]
Reception
Armon Sadler of Billboard ranked "Janice STFU" as the 11th best song from Iceman.[4] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian considered the song "filler" and one of the "underwhelming" aspects of the album, commenting that it "lazily" interpolates "I Follow Rivers".[6] Reviewing the album for Rolling Stone, Jeff Ihaza cited it as among the songs in which Drake "offers up the requisite earworm", writing that it "finds a new sonic texture in his delivery".[10]
Lykke Li said of the song, "I think it's potent. It has that raw, revenge, hip-hop energy."[5] Several notable figures have also publicly praised the song, such as Zohran Mamdami, [11] O'Shea Jackson Jr.[12] and Timbaland.[13] In contrast, during the Roots Picnic festival Jay Z responded to the songs subliminals with a 3 minute freestyle.