Chicago House Music DJ And Producer Paul Johnson Dies After Battle With COVID-19

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Renowned Chicago house music DJ and producer Paul Johnson died Wednesday after a battle with COVID-19, according to his Facebook page.

Johnson's Facebook page reported that he had passed away at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

In an Instagram video posted two weeks ago from a hospital bed at OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park, Johnson said he had COVID and had had it for a week, and described himself as "pretty f***ing weak."

Subsequently, Johnson reported that he was going on a ventilator.

As noted by AllMusic.com, Johnson grew up with Chicago's flourishing house music scene and pioneers such as Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, and Farley Jackmeister Funk. Johnson began DJ'ing himself in 1985, and producing his own tracks in 1990, AllMusic.com reported.

Johnson produced tracks for Chicago's best-known house music labels, and achieved his greatest prominence with the hit "Get Get Down," released in 1999.

Johnson also founded the Dust Traxx label, AllMusic.com noted.

Johnson also suffered hardships throughout his life. He was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in 1987 and had to use a wheelchair afterward, had to have his left leg amputated in 2003, and lost his right leg in an accident in 2010, according to multiple published reports.

In a video posted to Facebook with the announcement of his passing, Johnson is seen saying he had always been guided by perseverance.

"Ever since I was young, I always had this inside me – just go. Go, go, get out, get out – faster. So like I never let anything hold me back. I never let any type of experiences let me down or put me down. I've always had my own mind and thought like that," Johnson says in the video. "I knew once everything I wanted to do, nobody else was in my brain, so I knew it couldn't stop me. Even this disability couldn't stop me. Nothing could. I just had that in me. I still have that drive in me right now. It's a perseverant thing. I think I was born with it. I'm sure I was born with it."

Johnson was 50 years old.