DJ Rashad, 34, is found dead; overdose likely
CHICAGO - Rashad Harden, a house music and footwork pioneer who performed as DJ Rashad, was found dead over the weekend in Chicago of an apparent drug overdose, authorities said on Sunday.He was 34.
Chicago Police spokeswoman Janel Sedevic said a friend found Harden’s body Saturday afternoon in an apartment on the city’s West Side. She said that there was no sign of injury but that narcotics and drug paraphernalia were found near his body. An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday, but the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office declined to comment further on Sunday morning.
Harden’s death comes just days before his EP was scheduled for release and less than a month after fellow house music star Frankie Knuckles also died.
Harden, a resident of nearby Calumet City, was poised for a breakout year, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His fifth album was his best reviewed, he was scheduled to play clubs all over the world and on Monday, his latest EP, “We On 1,” was scheduled to be released.
“It’s just a tragic loss of a great musical genius,’’ said longtime friend and collaborator Morris Harper, who performs as DJ Spinn and who was scheduled to appear Saturday night with Rashad in Detroit.
Rashad was considered a pioneer of footwork - an electronic-oriented music genre that originated in Chicago. Once known as juke, footwork is named for its quick dance moves and what Rolling Stone magazine called its “frenzied and hypnotic style of dance music.”
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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