Abidjan (AFP)

Fans of the Ivorian singer DJ Arafat, star of the "coupé-décalé" died accidentally on August 12, were preparing Friday to pay an exceptional tribute to Abidjan to the one who has punctuated their lives in songs.

"We are expecting 100,000 people for the musical funeral that begins Friday," said Kenzo Kouadio, chairman of the funeral committee of the "Father of the Chinese", the nickname given to the singer as his admirers were numerous.

DJ Arafat, whose real name is Ange Didier Houon, died at the age of 33 following a motorcycle accident in Abidjan. The announcement of his death had given rise to scenes of hysteria among his fans.

Musical genre, but also attitude, the cut-off, frenzied music often using electronic sounds, was born in 2003 in Ivorian nightclubs to then spread throughout Africa.

Félicia, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium, the largest in the country with a capacity of 34,000 seats, will house the tribute ceremony that mobilized the best promoters of shows in the country.

"The doors of the stadium will open at 6:00 am (local and GMT) and animations will begin at 10:00 am until the next day", after which the body of the artist, father of five children, will be buried Saturday in the Williamsville Cemetery. in the popular commune of Adjamé, said Kenzo.

Many celebrities from the artistic world are expected to attend this celebration, according to Kenzo, but the list of names was not stopped Friday morning.

Giant screens will be installed in neighborhoods of Abidjan including Yopougon, Koumassi, Abobo, as well as in Cocody-Angré where DJ Arafat resided, to follow the ceremony which will also be broadcast live by the Ivorian Public Radio-Television.

"The preparations are going well, security will be in order", assured AFP Victor Yapobi, one of the leaders of the organization.

Many Abidjanians, however, dread skids. The Ivorian public administration, embassies, institutions and companies have alerted their employees to the "very volatile" situation during these two days (Friday and Saturday), and some of them close their offices near the stadium.

- He 'revolutionized the cut-off' -

The death of "Daishinkan" (another of his nicknames linked to a hero of comics) caused a national stir: political leaders, football stars and renowned artists have succeeded to "salute his talent".

Born from a renowned sound engineer father and a singer mother, the young DJ Arafat had trained himself on the job. "He went around the studios to learn, he was curious about everything," says Franck Alcide Kacou, label and publishing director of Universal Music Africa (a subsidiary of the multinational Vivendi), the company that has been producing DJ Arafat since 2013.

DJ in the bush of the rue Princesse in Yopougon, the big place of the festival in Abidjan, he had pierced with the title "Jonathan" in 2003, before stringing the tubes for 15 years: "Kpangor" (2005), Djessimidjeka (2012), Maplorly (2015), Dosabado (2018), among others.

Arafat "revolutionized the coupé-décalé, mixing sounds and rhythms, for example, inspired by traditional African music, but also Nigerian Afrobeat, rap, Brazilian baile funk and a dancer. exceptional and associated with his music new dance concepts, "says Kacou.

"He was the most influential artist in West Africa, with a community of two million Facebook fans, and he had a real aura," said Kacou. "It was beginning to break out in Europe and America, reaching an audience beyond the Ivorian diaspora".

On his latest album, "Renaissance", released in late December 2018, he invited international artists such as Master Gims, Dadju, Davido and Fally Ipupa.

It was sometimes controversial. "He was a divisive personality, he was very sensitive, hence his" unfiltered "reactions and his clashes with the other artists, who were part of his musical career," says Kacou. "But it was also marketing shots, Arafat was also a communication genius, he used social networks very well."

DJ Arafat was nominated "best artist of the year" at the Coupe-décalé Awards in 2016 and 2017. He was also awarded in 2012 "best African artist" at the Kora Music Awards, pan-African musical awards.

© 2019 AFP