Axel Merryl
From Dakar to Cotonou, Axel Merryl built one of the largest communities on the Benin web — more than 5 million TikTok subscribers — before turning the essay into music with the "Kimi" tube.
Axel Merryl Sofonnou was born on 1 July 1996 in Cotonou, Benin. A student in the Master of Telecommunications at the ESMT in Dakar, he started on YouTube in 2014 with Jojo Le Comédien: their video "If Chinese films were shot in Africa" (2015) becomes viral. His humour, in French and in French, earned him the nickname of ambassador of humour in Benin.
His channel surpasses 100,000 subscribers in 2017 and 1,32 million in December 2023; his parodies are shared by Booba, Don Jazzy or Fababy. He receives the YouTube trophies from the creator and multiplies the shows, from the Parliament of Laughter to the major Beninese scenes.
He has been a music writer and released the album "Temperature" (2024), presented in live session in Cotonou, and the "Kimi" film, a network phenomenon. Best artist of the year at Benin Showbiz Awards 2023, he is the best male artist in West Africa at AFRIMA and double winner at the ARRÀWWW Awards 2026.