Chicago medical examiners have concluded that the pioneering footwork and juke producer DJ Rashad, who died in April, was killed by a drug overdose. A new toxicology report has contradicted the earlier assertion, by Rashad’s cousin, that the musician died as a result of complications from a blood clot in his leg.
Officials confirmed the post-mortem results on Wednesday, stating that Rashad died of heroin, cocaine and alprazolam (Xanax) intoxication.
Rashad, born Rashad Harden, was found by a friend on the afternoon of 26 April at an apartment in Chicago’s West Side. The 34-year-old house DJ was pronounced dead at the scene, and police found narcotics and drug paraphernalia beside the body. His death was ruled an accident.
Rashad’s initial post-mortem proved inconclusive, according to a statement on 27 April. While police told the Chicago Sun-Times that they believed drugs were responsible, Rashad’s label, Hyperdub, conveyed his cousin’s understanding that coroners suspected a blood clot. Rashad was only found with marijuana paraphernalia, Hyperdub claimed, and he had been complaining about an ache in his leg.
Double Cup, Rashad’s final full-length, was selected as one of the Guardian’s top 30 albums of 2013. It was his first full studio album after almost a decade as an underground star.
