Let’s face it, DJ Rashad had just hit the open field in full stride at the time of his passing last April. While it might have seemed like a long time coming for Rashad Harden, the 34 year old Chicago producer who’d spent his time since his early teens doing yeoman’s work as a DJ and juke producer–playing and making the music he loved–the release of his 2013 LP Double Cup, via the cutting edge UK electronic label Hyperdub, signaled that the small Midwest scene he’d helped to nurture had found international recognition. While his unfortunate death must of felt like a gut punch to his brothers-in-arms, close compatriots like DJ Spinn, Taso, and the rest of the Teklife crew, one senses they have dedicated their full cause to the memory of their friend who left too early. A religious task really, and one that carries with it the risk of forever living under his shadow; but if DJ Spinn’s new Hyperdub EP, Off That Loud, is any indication, these cats are much too talented to fall into that trap. While the spirit and memory of juke will live on thru Teklife’s dedication to their best friend, one also senses this enterprise will continue forward–even as it still mourns Rashad’s tragic exit.
Here, Spinn and Tasso do a little rework to Rashad’s “Pass That Shit“, off Double Cup. The video is billed as a tribute, and it features plenty of footage and images of the cherubic and ever-cool Harden, as well as a moving intro in which a massive crowd of fans loose their shit while chanting, “DJ Rashad, Rest In Peace!”.
