Rogét Chahayed Talks Producing Drake’s ‘ICEMAN’ Hit ‘Janice STFU’: ‘It’s Full-Circle for Me’
Categoria: Musica
The Los Angeles native details his ICEMAN placements and love for The Sopranos, plus what it's like in the studio with Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey.
Por Billboard | 01/06/2026
When he’s not producing hits in the studio, Rogét Chahayed is working out. Alongside music, the Los Angeles native has dedicated the last few years of his life to fitness, which has resulted in Chahayed dropping 60 pounds. Related Drake’s ‘ICEMAN’ Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Drake’s ‘Janice STFU’ Becomes His First Multi-Week Hot 100 No. 1 This Decade Jay-Z's 'Reasonable Doubt' at 30: What Billboard Wrote About Brooklyn's Finest Back in the Day The energy from a rigorous late March workout in his home gym alongside Australian production duo FnZ poured into the studio for a jam session that followed and quickly led to the birth of the beat behind Drake’s “Janice STFU.” “Within a minute or two, we found that main synth riff you hear in the song. We looked at each other like, ‘That’s crazy,'” Chahayed tells Billboard . “We would hit each other the next day like, ‘He’s gotta do something to this. If he doesn’t make something to this, we shouldn’t be doing music anymore.’ This s–t sounds like a hit without anything on it.” While Chahayed saw potential in the brooding production, which was sent north of the border to OVO headquarters after some finishing touches from British producer B4u, nothing was official until ICEMAN ‘s arrival. Chahayed, who turned 38 on Sunday (May 31), found out about “Janice STFU” with the rest of the world while anxiously watching and running back YouTube’s episode four ICEMAN livestream on May 14 that came a couple of hours before the album reached streaming services. Built around an addicting chorus interpolating Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers,” “Janice STFU” was tabbed an early standout from ICEMAN . Drake used The Sopranos ‘ Janice Soprano to inspire the track’s title, which provided a “full-circle” moment for the producer, as Chahayed — who fancies himself a diehard fan of the HBO series — estimates he’s watched The Sopranos about “50 or 60” times through. He talks up having a signed James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano) photo in his house and the water bottle sitting next to him during the interview is even slapped with a Sopranos sticker. “Janice STFU” debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 with 40.7 million official streams for the tracking week ending May 21, giving Drake his record-breaking 14th No. 1 — the most among male soloists — and Chahayed’s third (“SICKO MODE,” “First Class”). The hit will spend a second week at the Hot 100 ‘s summit, which marks Drake’s first multi-week No. 1 since 2018’s “In My Feelings.” “Janice” also leads the Streaming Songs chart for a second week. Chahayed notched a second ICEMAN placement with the 21 Savage -assisted “B’s on the Table” and even as the accolades l