Michelle
Vaughn Benjamin, aka Akae Beka, the lead singer of Midnite Band, has died. He was 50 years old. Benjamin’s death was confirmed on November 5 through posts on the reggae legend’s Facebook page.
Benjamin formed Midnite with his brother, Ron Benjamin Jr., keyboard and bass player, in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1989. The brothers are the sons of Antiguan music legend Ron Benjamin. In an article, their father called Vaughn Benjamin, “one of the most prolific writer’s Reggae music has ever seen.”
In 2015, Benjamin reformed the group without his brother and renamed the band Akae Beka. Benjamin said that the band’s new name came from the Book of Enoch, chapter 68, verse 20-24. On the band’s official website, it means that Benjamin is “rooted firmly in the teachings of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I, his evolution and reaffirmed purpose are manifested in his newly declared name.”
Midnite Band released 11 albums, the last coming in 2014, “Beauty for Ashes.” That record was named as iTunes Reggae Album of the Year for 2015.
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