TRIBUTE TO DJ ARAFAT

Victim of a motorcycle accident on the night of August 11 to 12 in Abidjan, the Ivorian artist Ange Didier Huon - aka DJ Arafat - died at the age of 33 from his wounds in a clinic in Abidjan.

The star of the "coupe-décalé" had a serious road accident, occurred in the night from Sunday to Monday. His motorcycle hit a car driven by a journalist from Radio Côte d'Ivoire. The singer, unconscious, was quickly taken care of and admitted to intensive care.

"He was admitted to emergencies in a vegetative state. He had a fractured skull and edema, "said a Polyclinic doctor. The school's staff tried to revive him, "in vain". His death was finally confirmed by the Ivorian Radio Broadcasting (RTI): "Death of the artist DJ Arafat, his real name Houon Ange Didier, Monday, August 12 at 8 am, from a traffic accident that happened in the night of Sunday. "

Symbol of the "cut-off"

At only 33 years old, DJ Arafat was considered one of the big stars of French-speaking Africa, a major figure of the coupé-décalé in Côte d'Ivoire.

Born in 1986 in Abidjan, DJ Arafat was the son of another well-known Ivorian artist: sulphurous singer Tina Glamor.

Angel Didier Huon had a difficult childhood, which made him sink into alcoholism and banditry at the age of 11. It is the producer Roland Le Binguiste who spots him a few years later, while he regularly goes to the largest maquis of Abidjan, nicknamed Shanghai.

In 2003, at the beginning of the "cut-off" movement, a musical style enjoying a great popularity in Ivory Coast, DJ Arafat made himself known to the general public with his title Homage to Jonathan followed by a first album, "Black tar".

The musical style of the "coupe-décalé" was launched by the Ivorian youth, inspired by percussion rhythms accompanied by a dance that became famous. The arrival of the "coupé-décalé" in Côte d'Ivoire corresponds roughly to the beginning of the Ivorian civil war in 2002.

Nicknamed Arafat for his temperament

With a strong temperament, the young Didier Huon is nicknamed Yasser Arafat by his Lebanese friends. A reference to the former leader of Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The artist decided to make this nickname his stage name.

Thanks to his first album, the artist is invited in France by the promoter of shows Désiré Kouadio. In 2005, after the release of his second album Woman, he decided to settle in Paris, despite the expiration of his visa soon.

The singer-songwriter returned to the scene with a third album that met with great success in 2008. The 22-year-old artist rose to the top of the rankings in French-speaking Africa. It was in 2010 that DJ Arafat really became the emblem of the "cut-off" movement with a concert at the Palace of Culture in Abidjan.

At the heart of many controversies

Apart from his musical success, the artist is at the center of multiple polemics. He was particularly singled out for domestic violence cases on his ex-companion. He has also maintained many rivalries with artists such as his duo Debordo Leekunfa, with whom he had his first successes.

Despite these controversies, tributes rain. A'salfo, the leader of Magic System, reacted to Jeune Afrique:

"The boy is gone. He lived like a shooting star, he said with emotion. We are all collapsed. In the style of zouglou, internationally, there is Magic System. For the cut-off, it was DJ Arafat ... It's a big loss for Ivorian music.»

Britney Delsey for DayNewsWorld