Singer Mikaben, 41, Died After Collapsing On Stage & His Pregnant Wife Has 'No Words'
It happened mid-performance in Paris.
Mikaben on stage before his death in Paris. Right: Mikaben.
Mikaben, a popular Haitian singer, died suddenly at the age of 41 over the weekend, after collapsing in the middle of a performance in France.
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The musician, whose real name is Michael Benjamin, was performing in Paris on Saturday night when he apparently suffered some kind of medical issue. Emergency services tried to help him but he ultimately died, according to a statement from the venue where it happened.
It's unclear exactly what happened, but videos circulating online appear to show when things went wrong.
In one video, Mikaben can be seen turning around and then starting to walk off stage. He doesn't make it and instead falls down. The crowd gasps and the music suddenly stops as the band rushes over to check on him.
Benjamin was married and had two young children with another on the way.
"I'm in no condition to talk," his wife Vanessa posted on Instagram after his death. "I lost my other half and I have no words."
She added in another post that she is "drowning in this sorrow."
Many singers offered their condolences to Vanessa and mourned the loss of Mikaben, who first rose to fame in the 2000s.
"Rest in Peace King," tweeted Wyclef Jean. "Gone too soon."
"I'm shocked by the sudden death of the young and very talented artist Michael Benjamin 'Mikaben,'" Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry wrote on Twitter.
"We have lost a major figure in Haitian music."
Mikaben's cause of death was not immediately released, although CBS News reports that a heart attack is suspected.