DJ Rashad Harden Dies: Chicago Footwork Pioneer Dead Of Apparent Drug Overdose
DJ Rashad Harden has died, with police in Chicago finding the 35-year-old’s body in an apartment Saturday, the victim of a suspected drug overdose.
Police found Harden’s body on the 2100 block of West 21st Street, with narcotics and drug paraphernalia allegedly found near his body. The Cook County medical examiner’s office confirmed that he was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:50 pm, with an autopsy planned for Sunday to confirm the cause of death.
DJ Rashad gained fame for his 2003 album Double Cup, and for affiliations with DJ Spinn and his Teklife crew.
Detroit’s DJ Godfather shared the news with many fans, tweeting about DJ Rashad Harden’s death on Saturday evening.
R.I.P. to my long time friend DJ Rashad. Great friend & producer. I loved all the music we released over the years. U will be missed!
— DJ Godfather (@DJ_Godfather) April 27, 2014
While he had a national stature, DJ Rashad was particularly popular in Chicago, where he regularly played at clubs and performed at last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival. He recently opened for Chance the Rapper.
DJ Khaled was a pioneer in the Chicago-born style known as footwork, a variation of house music known for sped-up tempos and intricate rhythms.
After DJ Rashad Harden’s death, many fans and fellow musicians took to Twitter to express their condolences. The term “RIP DJ Rashad” even became one of the biggest trending terms early on Sunday.
Music lost a legend today. And he was my friend. Love you DJ Rashad. RIP
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) April 27, 2014
RIP DJ Rashad. Footwork lost a king… http://t.co/UaOxspLMGf
— Electronic Beats (@EBnet) April 27, 2014
RIP DJ Rashad. Only spoke to homie once or twice but it was enough to know how genuine of a person he was. Doesn’t make sense man.
— Lee Majorz 20/3 (@BishImMajorz) April 27, 2014
Before DJ Rashad Harden died, he was scheduled to perform on Saturday with Detroit’s DJ Godfather.
