Michael Benjamin, who was better known by his stage name, Mikaben, died Saturday after collapsing on stage in Paris while performing with the Haitian konpa band Carimi. He was 41.
“This is a shock,” Haiti-born hip hop artist and Grammy winner Wyclef Jean y told the Miami Herald.
Jean said he and Mikaben were hanging out together in New York with artist Michael Brun at Bayo. Brun had brought Jean out as a special guest, and he later brought Mikaben and the other artists out for a jam session.
“All I could remember was his smile,” said Jean, recalling how he pulled him into his arms and said: “This is one of the most influential and inspirational young artists of our generation.”
Mikaben’s death was first confirmed in a tweet by social media influencer Carel Pedre and Frantz Duval, the editor of Haiti’s Le Nouvelliste newspaper.
“12:10 AM, Sunday 16 October 2022. Michael Benjamin died of cardiac arrest immediately after his performance at the Carimi concert at the Accor Arena, Paris. Mika was one of the most talented artists of his generation.”
The last tweet from Benjamin, who went by the stage name MikaBen, was wishing his fellow performers good luck before they went onstage in Paris late on Saturday, October 15.
“Good luck to my big brothers for tonight! Thank you for paving the way for us who follow you! We love you! Haiti loves you very much! May love and light accompany you during the concert where thousands of fans will be in perfect harmony with you,” he wrote.
Singer Roberto Martino spoke to the Miami Herald after Benjamin's sudden death.
“I'm in disbelief,” he said.
“This is somebody I was working with for years and considered a brother, a good friend. We talked almost everyday. We have a chat together.” Martino told the Herald that he and Mikaben spoke right before he took the stage in Paris.
“He was so happy. He couldn't wait to get on that stage with Carimi. It was one of his biggest accomplishments in life. It's a band that he idolized. I'm at a lost for words. I'm broken.”
He added: “Mika was one of the most talented artists that I had ever met in my life.
“One of the most humble guys; you never heard him being mad or cursing at anybody. It's just sad; unbelievable."
Tributes flooded social media following news of the Haitian singer's death.
“Michael Benjamin says: Mikaben. He was not only a singer, but a patriot at heart who always makes the national pride shine all over the world. Bliyew pap janm yon opsyon… #RIPMikaben."
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