On April 26, 2014, the music world suffered the loss of house music and footwork legend, DJ Rashad in his hometown of Chicago. On that date, the cause of his death was inconclusive, however, many suspected either a blood clot in his leg or an overdose. The autopsy results have confirmed that heroin, cocaine, and alprazolam (Xanax) were found in Rashad’s system at the time of his death. Medical officials stated that the overdose and subsequent death was an accident.
DJ Rashad was a pioneer and evolutionary in the sub-genres of ghetto house, Chicago juke, and footwork. He began his DJ career in 1992 and started releasing tracks and vinyls in 1998. From then on DJ Rashad was in constant demand around the world and spent the majority of his time touring the world as a DJ. Rashad’s father stated that his son “knew what he wanted to do, and a lot of us don’t get a chance to make our dream come true.” With the loss of DJ Rashad comes the loss of an icon in the dance community. We’ve lost a unique pioneer whose gift and influences on the music world will never be forgotten.
H/T: The Guardian