Who was Mikaben? Tributes pour in as Haitian music star passes away during France concert

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Haitian singer Michael "Mikaben" Benjamin suddenly passed away on October 15 at the age of 41.

According to the Haitian Times, the singer collapsed immediately after delivering a performance with the famed band Carimi for an anniversary reunion concert in Paris, France.

He is survived by his wife, Vanessa Fanfan, who is pregnant and is due in December 2022, and his musician father, Lionel “Père Noël” Benjamin, who is called Haiti's Santa Claus because of his Christmas song, Abdenwèl.

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Brief background on Mikaben

Born in 1981, Michael "Mikaben" Benjamin was a native of Port-au-Prince. One of Haiti's most talented musicians, he began writing songs at 15. He polished his music skills while attending college in Canada's Montreal.

The late popular singer could sing in four languages - Spanish, Creole, English, and French - and knew how to play multiple instruments like keyboard, drums, guitar and bass.

After winning fourth place in a contest, he began his solo career and in 2004, released his second album and built a fan base in Haiti, Europe, the United States, and the French Caribbean. He formed a group called Krezi Mizik with his cousin David Dupoux and released two albums.

In 2009, he again started performing solo and went on to work as a producer with artists like Carimi and T-VIce. Following the 2010 earthquake, he recorded Ayti Se (Haiti is) and played it in front of former President Bill Clinton and a multitude of mourners during a remembrance of the catastrophe, which killed over 300,000 people and displaced 1.5 million.

While talking to the Palm Beach Post after the earthquake struck, the singer revealed that he was in the mountains when the catastrophe happened. He joined hands with the country's Culture Ministry and formed an organization called Ti Souf Ayiti. Mikaben and other artists who survived the quake visited hospitals, orphanages and refugee camps to perform their songs.

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Twitter reactions on Mikaben's death

After news of his passing broke, several fans and celebrities mourned the loss of the celebrated artist. Several people also shared videos of him performing at his last concert and stated that they were shocked that the singer passed away so suddenly.

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News of Mikaben's death was confirmed by social media influencer Carel Pedre and Frantz Duval, the editor of Haiti’s Le Nouvelliste newspaper, on Twitter. After the singer collapsed, Duval, who was live-tweeting from the performance area, notified fans that something was wrong while singer Mickael Guirand tried to control the situation by saying:

"End of the concert. We must evacuate the room. It’s very complicated."

The singer reportedly collapsed after he finished his concert in Paris and was leaving the stage. Carel Pedre revealed that the singer was receiving CPR and later confirmed his death. As of writing, the cause of his death has not been revealed, but some media reports suggest that Mikaben passed away from cardiac arrest.

Benajmin tied the knot with his wife Vanessa in November 2020, and the duo became parents to a daughter in 2021.