DJ Rashad Dead at 35

Just what is going on at the moment? No sooner than the music scene seemed to be coming to terms with the untimely passing of house music pioneer Frankie Knuckles than it has been dealt another huge blow with the tragic death of footwork innovator DJ Rashad Harden.

A sad day for electronic music, it seems like only we excitedly revealed news that footwork pioneer DJ Rashad had unveiled plans to release a new collaborative studio album ‘WTF’ last March with the full length effort from the Chicago producer in conjunction with fellow Teklife producers MoonDoctoR and FreshtillDef  following on as the latest chapter in his storied career after the Teklife stalwart joined Kode9’s Hyperdub and released the awesome ‘Double Cup’ LP on the imprint the year before. This was a man who in our opinion had so much more to give.

Rumours are currently swirling around the internet regarding the nature of his passing at just 35 with several outlets reporting the cause of death to be a drug overdose. We do know that the Chicago police department are conducting an investigation into his death after a friend found Harden’s body in an apartment on the 2100 block of West 21st Street as confirmed by Hector Alfaro, a news affairs officer at the Chicago Police Department. 

DJ Rashad gone but not forgotten.