DJ Arafat, a singer from Ivory Coast with a huge following in francophone Africa, has died after a road accident in Abidjan, the state broadcaster RTI has said.
“Death of artist DJ Arafat … today at 8am as a result of a road accident overnight,” the broadcaster tweeted on Monday.
According to messages and pictures circulating on social media, he had been driving a motorbike and smashed into a car.
Critically injured, the singer, 33, was taken to an Abidjan hospital, where he later died.
“We are all in shock,” Ickx Fontaine, an Ivorian producer and specialist in hip-hop told the AFP news agency.
“He was a real singer and a drummer … he gave a new breath of life to coupe-decale.”
Later on Monday, around 1,000 fans gathered in front of the hospital in Abidjan’s Cocody suburb where the singer died, weeping and chanting, “Arafat cannot die”.
‘Natural charisma’
Born in Abidjan in 1986, the artist, whose real name is Ange Didier Huon, had a massive audience in French-speaking western and central African countries.
He issued 11 albums, mainly of “coupe-decale” – a dance music form combining rapid percussion, choppy rhythms with hip hop-style vocals.
DJ Arafat’s fame expanded to Europe and the United States, thanks in part to sports stars who made some of the genre’s dance steps popular.
He Arafat was named “Best Artist of the Year” at the Ivorian “Coupe-decale” Awards in 2016 and 2017.
He was born in the music world. His mother was a well-known singer and his father a prominent sound engineer, according to a music manager. He started as a DJ in Yopougon, one of Abidjan’s night-life districts.
“He had a natural charisma,” said Ozone, a hip hop producer and television host. “He will remain a force for Ivorian and African music.”
Ivorian Culture Minister Maurice Kouakou Bandaman expressed his condolences and said a tribute would be held to honour the musician.
