Lesly Benoit, as known as Ti Lesly.
Many individuals cannot be confined to a single title, and Lesly Benoit is one of them. He served as Haiti’s Ambassador in Vietnam for 12 years. At the same time, he is also Ti Lesly, an Afro Pop artist with a global soul, creating rhythms that move audiences from Paris and New York to Africa and Asia alike.
Besides, music has always existed as a quiet yet enduring current in his life, where he expresses cultural identity and inner life under the name Ti Lesly. For that reason, this return to music is not a sudden turn, nor a journey of starting over, but a natural continuation of a life shaped by experience, discipline, and a global perspective.
This conversation with Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam takes place at a particularly momentous time, as Ti Lesly has just completed a professional fashion shoot in New York with leading figures from the creative industry, while simultaneously filming the music video for his comeback single Pas Possible in Paris. The track marks his official return to music after many years away.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: You have lived multiple lives, artist, diplomat, cultural bridge. How do you introduce yourself today?
LESLY BENOIT: I see myself as someone who balances creativity with responsibility. Alongside my professional work in global business and public affairs, I express my cultural identity through music as Ti Lesly. Both worlds coexist naturally, one provides structure, the other expression and together they define this chapter of my life.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: Before diplomacy, music was already part of your life. What first drew you to music?
LESLY BENOIT: Music was my refuge before it was my profession. Growing up between New York, Haiti, and Miami, music was identity, survival, and expression all at once. I was drawn to rhythm because it told stories before words could. It connected people who didn’t speak the same language, something I later realized would define my entire life.
Lesly Benoit spent 12 years living in Vietnam.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: You spent 12 years in Vietnam as Haiti’s Ambassador. How did living in Vietnam change you personally?
LESLY BENOIT: Vietnam changed my internal rhythm. It reinforced discipline and respect for culture, but also taught me to slow down and observe before acting. Diplomacy there became a foundation for the executive work I do today, requiring precision and cultural awareness. That same mindset now informs my music, measured, intentional, and grounded in lived experience rather than impulse.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: What was the exact moment you knew it was time to return to music?
LESLY BENOIT: It happened gradually while I was traveling extensively for work, moving between continents and cultures again. Being back in motion, airports, cities, conversations, late nights reawakened something familiar. Music started returning naturally, not as an escape, but as a companion to that rhythm of life. I realized I didn’t need to leave anything behind to create; the inspiration was happening in parallel. Music had simply found its place again.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: How did your diplomatic experience change the way you now approach your art and career?
LESLY BENOIT: Diplomatic work gives you perspective. You learn how to move between worlds, manage complexity, and think globally. That perspective has made me more intentional as an artist. I don’t rush creation, and I don’t chase noise. I build thoughtfully, balancing creativity with responsibility. Music now lives alongside my professional commitments grounded, strategic, and focused.
Lesly Benoit chose Afro-house as he returned to his music career.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: Why did you choose Afro-house as the sound for this new chapter?
LESLY BENOIT: Afro-house reflects balance, movement with control, emotion with structure. It’s global, rooted, and disciplined, much like the environments I move through professionally. The genre allows me to express joy and cultural depth without excess. It feels appropriate for where I am in life: experienced, grounded, and internationally connected.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: What story does your new album tell?
LESLY BENOIT: The album tells a story of continuity rather than disruption. It’s about evolution, how experiences, travel, responsibility, and perspective shape creativity over time. The music isn’t reactive; it’s reflective. It mirrors a life that is active, structured, and deeply engaged with the world, while still leaving space for emotion and rhythm.
Fashion, music, and diplomacy are three fields deeply familiar to Lesly Benoit.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: How do fashion, style, and music intersect for you?
LESLY BENOIT: They intersect through intention. Fashion, music, and leadership all rely on understanding context and identity. Style, for me, is not about spectacle, it’s about refinement and consistency. Whether in a boardroom or on a creative platform, I believe in showing up with clarity and purpose.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: What message do you hope your journey sends to people who feel it’s “too late” to start again?
LESLY BENOIT: I hope it shows that growth doesn’t require abandoning responsibility. You don’t have to choose between ambition and creativity. When life is structured well, different dimensions can coexist. Starting something meaningful later in life isn’t about risk, it’s about confidence in who you are and what you’ve built.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: What does success look like for you in this new chapter?
LESLY BENOIT: Success is balance and credibility. It’s continuing to perform at a high level professionally while creating work that resonates culturally and emotionally. If the music travels, builds respect, and reflects discipline and integrity while my professional commitments remain strong, then this chapter is exactly where it should be.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: Thanks so much for having time with us!
Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam
