Ivorien’s King of the coupé-décalé, DJ Arafat dies at 33

Popular Ivorien artist Ange Didier Huon, who is better known by his stage name DJ Arafat is dead.

He was aged 33.

The singer reportedly died on the morning Monday 12 August from injuries sustained after he was involved in a motorcycle accident on Sunday night in Abidjan. He was rushed to a clinic, Polyclinique des Deux Plateaux, at the city but did not survive.

His motorcycle crashed into a car driven by a Radio Côte d’Ivoire journalist. The singer, unconscious, was quickly taken into care and admitted to intensive care. Unfortunately, he did not survive.

“He was admitted to the emergency room in a vegetative state. He had a skull fracture and oedema,” a doctor from the institution tells Jeune Afrique, on condition of anonymity. The medical teams tried to revive him, “in vain”.

His death was also confirmed by officials of the Ivorien government.

The undisputed king of the coupé-décalé, DJ Arafat earned himself an international reputation and had established himself as the undisputed boss of the offbeat dance sound. He occasionally had a difficult reputation, because of recurring clashes with other coupé-décalé artists.

Born on 26 January 1986 in Yopougon, a town in western Abidjan, the artist was also known by several nicknames, such as Commander Zabra, and Leader of People’s China.

In what seems like an irony, his latest single, which was released last May is called Moto-Moto.