Chicago's DJ Rashad found dead

DJ Rashad won wide acclaim for last year's album Double Cup

DJ Rashad, a pioneer of Chicago's footwork and juke music scenes, has been found dead. He was in his mid-30s.

The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times quoted police as saying he died of a suspected drug overdose.

Tributes have been paid on Twitter by friends and collaborators including DJ Godfather and Chance The Rapper, who wrote that "music lost a legend today".

DJ Rashad's latest album Double Cup was ranked eighth in Rolling Stone's list of the best dance albums of 2013.

The magazine said it was "one of the year's freshest-sounding dance LPs, ominous and decidedly futuristic" and noted its "deep ties to early house and Detroit techno and echoes of '70s R&B and soul-jazz".

Released by respected British label Hyperdub, the album was also among the top 30 best albums of 2013 according to both The Guardian andPitchfork.

DJ Rashad's real name was Rashad Harden and his age was reported to be 34 or 35. He was at the forefront of juke and its offshoot footwork, ground-breaking sub-genres that evolved from house music.

They are dominated by frenetic beats and fractured samples and accompanied by athletic dance moves.