DJ Rashad was a young inventor and entrepreneur of Chicago Footwork, the EDM genre popularized in the 1990’s as a derivative of Ghetto House. We delved into some fun facts to start off your curiosity about the genre earlier this week in '5 Fun facts to get you familiar with Chicago Footwork’, we will look into the biography of one of its late inventors, DJ Rashad. Who is this man and why is he so important to the genre? (remastered) will tell you all about it.

Biography
DJ Rashad in his early days, no image source.

Born Rashad Harden in 1979 Hammond Indiana, DJ Rashad was an aspiring DJ with a passion for music that sparked a DJ career in his early teens. He was heavily influenced by classical house and Juke music, which he freely incorporated into his work. It was in high school that he joined a local radio station, Kennedy-King College radio and became a member of a local dance troupe. His first public appearance and gig was at his high school dance party celebration. It was at this high school where Harden would get to know Morris Harper, professionally known as DJ Spinn and it would be with him that Harden would find Footwork as we know it now.

Chicago Footwork

At Harden and Harper parental houses, they would find the Teklife crew and footwork style music based on dance battles in the Chicago Metropolitan area. In 1998 he released his first record, but it was not until 2010 that he received global success with his record ‘Itz Not Rite’ through Planet Mu, an English record label. In 2013 he released two more Ep’s that were followed up by a full-length album called ‘Double Cup’, featuring DJ Spinn and many other DJs from the Chicago Footwork scene. In 2013 DJ Rashad opened for Chance the Rapper’s Social Experiment Tour and throve off the success of his previous records. In 2014 he would have his last performance in Denver, Colorado as he would pass of a drug overdose later that year.

Legacy

DJ Rashad is widely renowned for his album ‘Double Cup’ and his entrepreneurship in the early days of Chicago Footwork. Though he did not get to live long, his legacy is ingrained in the genre. While Chicago dance music has evolved through many different influences and dance styles, the evolution of Harden’s work remains remarkable. From his quick evolution from playing in roller rinks to taking global stages with a relatively new genre of music, he was a constant reminder of the potential that Electronic Dance Music could and would reach in the future.

DJ Rashad later on in life, image source unkown.

The way DJ Rashad honored the genres that came before Chicago Footwork and his incorporation of them into his work at an early age set the tone for the genre as a whole and made him an influential and honorable member of his community.

You cannot speak about Chicago Footwork without mentioning his name and honor amongst other DJs of the genre. Want to check out his work yourself? Follow the Spotify link here.

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