Musician Dies After Collapsing on Stage During Concert: 'You Can Tell He Wasn't Feeling Good'
Mikaben, a Haitian singer and musician, died after collapsing during a performance in France on Saturday.
The 41-year-old artist, whose real name was Michael Benjamin, was performing with the Haitian band Carimi at the 20,000-seat Accor Arena in Paris when he had a “medical incident,” CNN reported.
Mikaben was walking to the back of the stage when he passed out. The venue said in a tweet Sunday that he died soon afterward.
“Last night during the Carimi concert, one of the singers, Michael Benjamin, Mikaben of his artist name died following a malaise on stage and despite the intervention of the emergency services,” Accor Arena said, according to the Twitter translation.
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
No cause of death was announced, but some news reports said cardiac arrest was suspected.
Audience members shared videos of Mikaben’s collapse on Twitter.
Michaël BENJAMIN est mort suite à un malaise après sa prestation, ce samedi, avec le groupe #CARIMI à l’Accor Arena. Le monde musical haïtien est en deuil. Plusieurs personnalités ont déjà salué le départ de ce grand de la musique haïtienne dont l’ex-PM #ClaudeJoseph.
😭🇭🇹😭🇭🇹😭 pic.twitter.com/75gxGEtNAf— Clin D’oeil (@clindoeilinfo1) October 15, 2022
A Facebook user shared a video from the performance and noted that “you can tell he wasn’t feeling good.”
Mikaben was born in Port-au-Prince to Haitian singer Lionel Benjamin, Entertainment Tonight reported.
He leaves behind his wife, Vanessa, and their two children, with one more on the way.
After Mikaben’s death, his wife posted on Instagram thanking people for their condolences but asking for privacy.
“Thank you for the prayers but please stop calling me. I’m in no condition to talk. I lost my other half and I have no words,” Vanessa Benjamin posted.
In another post, she said, “Oh mon Dieu, Heavenly Father, I know you don’t make mistakes and you won’t give us what we can’t [bear] but…this pain is very heavy. Help me please oh merciful Lord.”
Other people have been grieving over the loss of Mikaben and sharing their thoughts on social media.
Ariel Henry, the prime minister of Haiti, mourned the musician’s death in a pair of posts on Twitter, saying he was “devastated by the news.”
[2/2]
Le pays et la jeunesse haïtienne ont perdu une belle âme. Je présente mes condoléances à sa famille, ses amis et à la communauté musicale dans son ensemble.#Haïti
— Dr Ariel Henry (@DrArielHenry) October 15, 2022
Wyclef Jean, a famous Haiti-born rapper, also paid tribute to Mikaben on Twitter.
Rest In Peace King @mikaben Gone too soon #haiti pic.twitter.com/9pZXum61PS
— Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) October 15, 2022
Entertainment Tonight reported that Mikaben was acclaimed as a “generational talent.”
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