DJ PIONEER "DJ RASHAD" PASSES AWAY AT 34

Rashad Hanif Harden, the Chicago DJ and producer known as DJ Rashad who helped establish a new style of dance music over a 15-year career, died on Saturday. He was 34.

Harden was found unresponsive in a Chicago apartment on Saturday afternoon, according to Chicago police officer Janel Sedevic. Drug paraphernalia was found at the scene, and a toxicology report by the Cook County medical examiner was scheduled for Sunday.

It's a tragic ending to a slow-burning career that had only recently been recognized on an international scale. Over the past four years, Harden's frenetic footwork productions evolved from a local Chicago staple to the go-to rhythm of a new generation of dance music producers. His final two full-length albums, 2012's Teklife, Vol. 1: Welcome To The Chi and 2013's Double Cup, were celebrated on numerous year-end lists by dance and pop music critics alike.