Ange Didier Houon (26 January 1986 – 12 August 2019), known professionally as DJ Arafat, Arafat Muana and various other stage names, was an Ivorian DJ and singer who made music in the Coupé-Décalé genre. "Jonathan", "202", "Dosabado", "Kpangor", "Zoropoto" and "Enfant Beni" were some of his major hits. He was popular in French-speaking countries in Africa. He was awarded the "Best Artist of the Year" at the Coupé-Decalé Awards in the year 2016 and 2017. He died in a motorcycle accident on 12 August 2019.

Life and career

Arafat Dj et Debordo Likufa sur un meme Scene à Abidjan

Arafat was born as Ange Didier Houon on 26 January 1986. He was the son of , a popular singer, and the deceased musician and sound engineer Pierre Houon. He has an older brother well known as DJ TV3. Ange Didier started his music career in the early 2000s as a DJ when he was only 14 years old in

Yopougon Yopougon (), also known colloquially as Yop City, is a suburb of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is the most populous of the 10 urban communes of Abidjan and covers most of the western territory of the city. Yopougon is the only commune of Abidjan that sp ...

, a night-life district in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

. He left for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to improve his career and even overstayed his visa. In 2005, he spent a month in detention as an undocumented migrant. The stage name Arafat refers to Palestinian leader

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

; he stated that Lebanese friends in the Ivory Coast gave him the nickname because he was “hardcore”. He was considered one of the most popular African artists in

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

countries around the world. He became a star of his genre around 2009. He released 11 music albums primarily in the popular " Coupé-Décalé" dance music style, in his career that spanned fifteen years. BBC described him as the "king" of Coupé-Décalé, which means "cut and run", in Ivorian slang it means "to cheat someone and run away" and it began in the early 2000s during Ivory Coast's civil war. The music incorporates fast percussion, deep bass and hip-hop-style vocals. Arafat became the symbol of the flashy well-dressed lifestyle which is associated with the music. His song Dosabado is one of his most popular hits. He liked motorcycles and also featured them in his recent hit 'Moto Moto' released in May 2019. He had multiple motorcycle accidents, one of which in 2009, was serious. Arafat's motorcycle accident in 2019 was fatal. Arafat later became popular in the Europe and the United States when some of the sports personalities popularized the dance steps of coupé-décalé genre. "Dosabado", "Kpangor", "Zoropoto", "Enfant Beni" and "Moto, Moto" were some of his major hits.

Death

On 12 August 2019, Arafat died in Abidjan Hospital after a motorcycle accident in

Abidjan, Ivory Coast Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...

. His motorcycle was said to have collided with a car in the Angre neighborhood on Sunday, 11 August 2019. He was subsequently admitted to a hospital in

for a

skull fracture A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the human skull, skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near ...

before eventually dying at around 8:00a.m. UTC on 12 August 2019. After the news of his death spread, on 12 August 2019, around 1,000 of his fans assembled in Cocody suburb near the hospital where he died, and mourned his death chanting "Arafat cannot die". After his burial, some fans exhumed his grave after a rumor sufficed that his body was given to cult members. Police struggled to manage the crowd gathered in the area. A crowd of his fans also gathered around his house singing some of his hits. Maurice Kouakou Bandaman, the Ivorian Culture Minister, condoled his death and a tribute was held in his honour.

Awards

He was awarded the "Best Artist of the Year" at the Coupé-Decalé Awards in 2016 and 2017. He also won two

WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards (commonly abbreviated as a WAMVA) is an award presented by the TV channel WatsUp TV to honor the best in the African music videos scene. The award was launched in Accra, Ghana in September 2016 coupled with the ...

in 2016.

WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards

, - , rowspan=2, 2016 , Maplôrly , Best West African Video , , - , Concert a Korhogo , Best African Performance , , -

Selected discography

Singles

* Kpangor * Zropoto * Boudha * Djessimidjeka * Agbangnan * 2017 : "Enfant béni" * 2018 : "Dosabado" * 2019 : "Moto Moto" * 2019 : "Kong"

Tours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arafat, DJ 21st-century Ivorian male singers 1986 births 2019 deaths People from Abidjan Road incident deaths in Ivory Coast Motorcycle road incident deaths