Haitian singer Mikaben, 41, dies after collapsing at Paris concert

by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News October 17, 2022

Haitian recording artist Mikaben died Saturday after collapsing on stage immediately after performing in a concert with the Haitian konpa band CaRiMi.

Mikaben / Twitter

He was 41.

The cause of death has not been verified, although preliminary reports suggest that the singer, whose real name was Michael Benjamin, died from cardiac arrest, The Haitian Times reported.

Benjamin’s wife, Vanessa Fanfan, is pregnant and expecting their child in December, the report said.

“I’m in disbelief,” singer Roberto Martino told the Miami Herald. “This is somebody I was working with for years and considered a brother, a good friend. We talked almost every day. We have a chat together.”

Martino told the newspaper that he spoke with Mikaben shortly before he took the stage in Paris.

“He was so happy. He couldn’t wait to get on that stage with CaRiMi,” Martino told the Herald. “It was one of his biggest accomplishments in life. It’s a band that he idolized. I’m at a loss for words. I’m broken.”

Mikaben’s musical career spanned more than 20 years. He rose to fame in Haiti and internationally with major hits like “Ou Pati,” the Haitian Times reported. His 2012 ode to Haiti — “Ayiti Se” (Haiti is) — two years after the country’s most devastating earthquake, resonated worldwide.

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