Ivory Coast’s DJ Arafat, a well-known singer in French-speaking Africa, has died following a traffic accident.
He was admitted to hospital in the main city, Abidjan, with a fractured skull after his motorcycle collided with a car on Sunday (11.08.19), BBC reported. The 33-year-old unfortunately died early on Monday.
Nigerian star Davido, Bongo star Diamond Platnumz, Congolese musicians Awilo Longomba and Fally Ipupa are some of the artists who posted their condolence messages on social media.
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He has been referred to as the “king” of coupé-décalé dance music and one of his biggest hit songs, ‘Dosabado’, has over five million views on YouTube.
The singer was also known for his love of motorcycles and featured them in his most recent hit, ‘Moto Moto’, that was released in May 2019, which has more than four million YouTube views.
DJ Arafat, whose real name was Ange Didier Huon, was named the best artist of the year at the Coupé-Decalé Awards in 2016 and 2017.
Coupé-decalé (meaning “cut and run”) was born in the early 2000s during Ivory Coast’s civil war and emphasised that young people still wanted to have fun despite the conflict, reports the BBC’s Hatouma Diarra from Abidjan.
DJ Arafat came to symbolise the flashy well-dressed lifestyle associated with the music, which features fast percussion, deep bass and hip-hop-style vocals.
