MikaBen the Haitian Super Star Rocking on Times Square Billboard.

On October 23rd, Saturday night, a line of fans gathered around Haitian, MikaBen in front of Forever 21 store at Times Square all waiting anxiously to see his new album “Marry Me” brought by “Fé Yo Wew TV”, on Times Square Billboard. It was a great day for Mika, who was well received by fans and he in turn thanked them by signing autographs.

Michaël Benjamin, known as Mikaben, is an eclectic Haitian artist with a wide range of talents: singer, writer and producer. Accompanied by his guitar or with a full band, Mikaben is one of the few artists of his generation to excel in many different musical genres. Since the launch of his first song in 1999 entitled “Nwèl Tristès,” Mikaben has shown a particular sensitivity for his country. He wants to paint, through his art, a beautiful yet real image of his country. He already has over 15 years of experience on the stage and has performed on several international stages, including the Olympia of Paris with Carimi, the Zenith, Joe’s Pub in NY, the Cultural Center of Ivory Coast, the Hoogstraten Festival in Belgium, the Miami Compas Festival, and Dillon Stadium to name just a few.

Mikaben was born in Port-au-Prince in 1981; this versatile artist is alternately a singer, composer and producer. Accompanied by his guitar or full band, Mikaben is one of the rare artist of his generation to excel in all genres; whether the good old Haitian compas, world music, the Antillean Zouk, the dance hall, the Jamaican reggae and RnB / HipHop.
As an artist, Mikaben composed, produced and performed on albums by Carimi several pieces to success, including “Baby I missed you” that has over 3 million views on Youtube, “Fanm sa Move” that has 1.4 million views. On the other hand he has also collaborated with T-Vice, Leila Chicot, Kreyol La, his father Lionel, Bélo, Stanley Georges, Alan Cave, Izolan, Olivier Duret, J Perry, Wesli Band to name a few.
“Ti Pam Nan” which is a hit in Haiti, in collaboration with J-Perry got signed and released in july 2016 by the major label Warner Music France.
Son of the famous singer Lionel Benjamin, Mikaben is polyglot (he can sing in Creole, in French, English and Spanish). He plays several instruments such as guitar, keyboard, bass and drums, and discovered an early passion for music. At age 15, he already offered the public its first composition. At 16, having decided to go to Canada to continue his studies, he continues to indulge in his art. That year in Montreal, he participated in an annual competition of Christmas music arranged by “TELEMAX”, a television station Haitian, and his song “Nwèl Tristès,” ranked fourth, allowing it mostly to gain sympathy from the Haitian public. We are in 1999. From there, everything comes together quickly. Mikaben decided to pursue his music career and recorded his first solo album “VWAYAJ” in the studios of Marco Volcy in the Montreal album that launched in December 2000. His song “Ou Pati” is so successful it is chosen by Fabrice Rouzier, great producer and Haitian composer to participate in the “Haitian Troubadour” project. More than 70,000 copies are sold- which is a great record for Haiti. This experience made him well known in the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.

In May 2004, Michael launched his second album entitled “MIKA” whose success opened up new doors, especially in Canada. He has the opportunity to participate in festivals in Chicoutimi, Ottawa, Quebec and Montreal (among other Francofolies). Returning to Haiti in March 2005, urged by his cousin David Dupoux, it forms with the latter the “Krezi MIZIK” group and agrees to temporarily put in the background his solo career. Since its official presentation to the press in May 2005, the group has known great success. He puts out two albums (one live and one recorded in the studio). Mikaben and his band have toured the US, Canada, the Caribbean, France and Belgium.
It was in June 2009 that his career took a decisive turn; Mikaben decided to restart as a single player, and thus terminated its collaboration with “Krezi MIZIK” as lead vocalist. In 2010, after the earthquake, it expressed its sorrow at the suffering of his country through a poignant composition entitled “Yon Ti Souf Pou Ayiti.” This position inspires the creation of Tisouf Foundation whose mission is to bring joy to the children of his country. The summer following the quake, Mikaben released a compilation entitled “ATIS LOKAL Janm PAP LAGE” which had great success in Haiti.

Mikaben launched his most recent album on may 4th 2018. Comprised of 18 songs with amazing artists along his side such as J Perry, Admiral T, Kevin Lyttle, Elephant Man, Esy Kennenga, Zoey Dollaz, Paul Beaubrun, Meilan, Bélo, Richard Cave, Eud, and Masterbrain. Since the release of his album, he has been touring in the US, Canada, Europe and the french islands.

For more information on Mika, check him on
IG: Mikaben509
Facebook: facebook.com/mikaben.ht
Twitter: mikaben
TikTok: officialmikaben
Website: www.mikaben.com

By Niyi Fote/Thenews2