DJ Arafat

Ange Didier Houon, who went by the name DJ Arafat, was a DJ and pop singer in the traditional percussive Ivory Coast dance form known as Coupé-Décale. He died aged 33 on 12th August 2019 following a motorcycle accident in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Born into a musical family, he was admired widely in French-speaking nations around the world and he also gained fame in Europe and North America.

After starting out as a DJ in his homeland, he moved to France and released several albums including 'Gooudron noir' (2003), 'Femmes' (2005), 'Don de Dieu' (2009), 'Baisboula Areguede' (2012), 'Chebeler' (2013), 'Yurogang' (2017) and 'Renaissance' (2018).

He collaborated with many artists include Molare, DJ Lewis, Papa Ministre, Erickson Le Zulu and Debordeaux Leekunfa. Singles range from 'African Tonik' with Mokobé, Mohamed Lamine and Mory Kante in 2008 to '2 Matin 3 le Sour' in 2014, 'Enfant béni' (2017), 'Dosabado' (2018) and 'Moto Moto' (2019). Ivorian Culture Minister Maurice Kouakou Bandaman said a tribute was to be held to honour him following his death.