Haitian singer Mikaben collapsed and died on stage died from a suspected heart attack or cardiac arrest in Paris late Saturday. He was 41 years old.
Mikaben was performing as a guest of Haitian konpa group CaRiMi at the 20,000-seat Accor Arena when social media footage showed him attempting to walk offstage and staggering before collapsing.
“End of the concert,” CaRiMi singer Mickael Guirand told the crowd, some of whom fainted after witnessing the incident, according to the Miami Herald. “It’s very complicated. We need prayers.”
According to a Twitter translation the venue shared Sunday, Mikaben “died following a malaise onstage and despite the intervention of the emergency services. The entire Accor Arena team is terribly affected and sends all its support to his family and loved ones in this painful ordeal.”
Hier soir lors du concert de Carimi, l’un des chanteurs, Michael Benjamin, Mikaben de son nom d’artiste est décédé suite à un malaise survenu sur scène et malgré l’intervention des secours. pic.twitter.com/zHFRuwyiQg
— Accor Arena (@Accor_Arena) October 16, 2022
The 10,000 people at the Accor Arena were asked to evacuate the concert arena soon after his death.
Mikaben was born Michael Benjamin and rose to fame in Haiti and around the world in the 2000s with his hit song ‘Ou Pati’.
His father – who is known as “Haitian Santa Claus” due to his popular Christmas music – taught him how to play guitar at 14 leading to his interest in music.
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Euronews reports news of Mikaben’s death was greeted with shock and sadness from fans and fellow musicians alike in a country already torn by multiple crises.
Haitian radio stations played his music on repeat while politicians and friends spoke of their grief.
“I’m shocked by the sudden death of the young and very talented artist Michael Benjamin ‘Mikaben’,” the Haitian prime minister, Ariel Henry, said on Twitter.
“We have lost a major figure in Haitian music.”
Wyclef Jean, the Haitian-born rapper and member of hip-hop group the Fugees, called Mikaben “one of the most influential and inspirational young artists of our generation”, in an interview with the Miami Herald newspaper.
Haitian musician Mikaben (born Michael Benjamin) plays guitar as he performs during the World Music Institute’s ‘Eritaj’ (‘Heritage’) concert, in celebration of Haitian Heritage Month, at Symphony Space, New York, New York, May 25, 2019. (Jack Vartoogian/Getty)
“He was a musical genius and that’s what we just lost,” member of the Konpa band Zin, Alex Abellard, told the Haitian Times. “His writing was very original. Just imagine not having that anymore in a country that’s missing so much now. That’s a big loss for our culture globally.”
His wife Vanessa, who is pregnant, posted a message thanking people for their prayers but asking for privacy.
“I’m in no condition to talk. I lost my other half and have no words,” she wrote.
A cause of death is yet to be officially announced.
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