An Inspired Chat with Benjamin Caleb The Quiet Giant of South Africa

Benjamin Caleb The Quiet Giant shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Benjamin, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Well, I’m on tour these days, in South Africa right now, so my normal day is a little bit full of work than usual, and by the way, this is why I’m not on social media like i used to be, i spend most of my time practicing and touring since 2023.

So when I wake up, I grab immediately my guitar next to my bed, playing songs that I have worked on yesterday, then while I wash and eat and everything, I listen to good music: from George Strait or Billy Joel to Joe Robinson or The Beatles, just to brighten my day.

A few hours later, Jerry my manager comes for a short meeting, just to give me the day’s plan, this could be an interview, a radio broadcast or a television appearance, a masterclass or music conferences, In short, anything that can promote the tour. Then I go back to my hotel room, preparing a set list of what I will play.

Once the night falls, I play my show, go back to the hotel, speak to friends and family on the phone, and i practice, practice and practice again, and then see you tomorrow.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Benjamin Caleb, a solo acoustic guitar player for shows and concerts, songwriter and teacher.
I’m considered as an important ambassador of Fingerstyle guitar in Africa, and the creator of The Tommy Emmanuel Music Academy.

I won two awards, for the BEST ARTIST OF THE YEAR and the BEST AFROPOP PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR.

The Tommy Emmanuel music academy is an African Fingerpicking school that aims to spread fingerpicking music throughout Africa, by giving lessons to students, buy for them guitars, strings, capo, picks… everything necessary to young learners.

I’m trying to give them the chance that I didn’t have when I started, because there are so many young Africans who have hunger for knowledge and big love for FINGERSTYLE MUSIC, but they don’t even have a guitar, there are those who don’t have internet access, others aren’t even able to afford a telephone.

It’s not easy to me at all, but I’m still looking for a way to help them all.
By the way big thanks to the extraordinary guitarist IBRA TCHOMBA, who is the only person for now, who helps me in this mission.

But you can join us in this cause or contribute, thank you.

You know, since my childhood I have lived through wars and all kinds of catastrophes, and songs like Flow by the great JOE ROBINSON helped me get through a lot of stuff, like a haven of peace when everything was going wrong in the real life.

So i want them to feel the same, I want Tommy’s music and Chet Atkins’ legacy to remain in the memory of Africans, even after my death.

What makes my guitar playing interesting, is being able to play alone on stage, i mean playing the bass part, the rhythm part and the melody part at the same time, nobody in Africa can actually do that, so I built my career around it, and i devoted my whole life to it.

And I worked for years, nights and days to perfect my playing, attract the attention of the biggest names, and build my audience.
Today I have already toured in several countries like, Ghana, Rwanda, Namibia, Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria etc… and I’m still on the road.
So call me anywhere in the world, I will come to make you forget your worries for at least an hour.

And there are periods when it’s so much difficult to going on tour, to keep traveling for work while in my country, friends, family and people I love continue to die because of the war, and sometimes I have to go with this painful emotional baggage on the road, it’s like living a beautiful dream and a nightmare at the same time.

Being an African professional guitar player has always been so much harder in so many different ways, but I have the obligation to keep going and find a balance in all of this. Well you know what they say, “the show goes on”

Now, I’m working on a big project, just to consolidate the relationship between African Fingerstyle community and the Fingerstyle community of the rest of the world.
I was thinking about doing some collaborations with some Fingerpickers friends, people like Emil Ernebro, Joe Robinson, Gareth Pearson, Shane Hennessy, or Tommy Emmanuel.

And recently i sent to him a song idea, he really liked the idea and told me he would see how to write the bridge, so that could be our song, can you imagine ? Tommy Emmanuel in collaboration with Benjamin Caleb ! Oh it’s crazy.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
No one ever told me that life would be this hard, that you had to fight like a crazy to get what you need.
Everyone around me said that you just have to pray for things to work out, but that’s not true, at all. You have to do something, not just say words in emptiness, money don’t grow on trees, they say.

And it was in sadness, in emptiness and sorrow, that I learned that you had to fight, because things don’t just happen. You will be alone to fight the most important battles of your life.

And i learned this through my personal life experience, interviews with other musicians, reading biographies of successful people, songs also taught me a lot, some movies too, and of course Tommy Emmanuel, yeah i know, i talk about him too much.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
To my younger self, I would say something like this: Take your life too seriously because, no one gives a damn. Don’t be emotionally dependent on people, because they will let you down when you need them the most, and that can kill you.

Life will hurt you somehow, but don’t worry, it means you’re growing up,
Fall, analyse and try again.

Save the money you give to people, ‘cause there will be times they will tell you, they never asked you anything.

To my younger self I would say, don’t be humble sometimes, because people will see it as a weakness.
I would tell him to make mistakes and accept the consequences, everyone can be wrong while you’re right.

I would tell him to hold on tight to his guitar, because there will come a time when everyone will leave, but not your guitar.
And when you are down, don’t look around, look inside, ‘‘cause your heart already knows what your brain is trying to understand.

Don’t be afraid to suffer, the pain you feel you must accept it, and allow it to reduce you to nothing, to tear you apart and tear you to pieces, it must pull you down to the depths of your soul, because it’s from the bottom that we see the path that leads to the top, It’s by living the darkness of hell, that we can really see the path that leads to the light.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
There are a lot of cultural value that’s so important to me, but the most important of all is DIGNITY, that is what separates a human from an animal. And unfortunately it’s a value that has disappeared and rare to find in people, especially in my country in Africa, and it’s so sad.

Dignity is what allows you to feel good and comfortable even around people who surpass you in everything: money, fame, beauty, or knowledge.
Dignity leads to self-respect, and self-respect leads to hard work, and hard work leads to respect of others towards you.

This is one of the biggest fights I have right now, It’s a value I can die to protect, and that will probably be the first thing I’ll teach to my children, it’s the basic value I think.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Yeah for sure, that’s the story of my life. I started playing guitar late, because people said I couldn’t do it, and when I started practicing all night and day, people said that I was just lazy, that I will never achieve anything.
All my life I was considered as a very bad guitar player by other musicians, just because I played a style they didn’t like.

And when I decided to drop out of college to make a professional career, even my family said that i will be good for nothing. I have been underestimated all my life because I took a different way from them.

And even when I started to have some money and success, people said the same negative things, but i kept on doing it anyway, and today they all want to become like me, they all want to play my style.

But I never did it for anyone, i was just following nothing but my heart, the music isn’t only my job, it’s my way of life.
There are good choices that we regret, and there are bad choices that make us live, and whatever your choice, your heart must be your guide.

The best way to fail, is trying to please everybody, you just can’t, work is a blessing if you do what’s coming from deep inside your heart, and not what some people say. So please, just follow your heart, you can’t go wrong.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
AfriGuit

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?

Coffee? Workouts? Hitting the snooze button 14 times? Everyone has their morning ritual and we

Highlighter Series
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?

Our deepest wounds often shape us as much as our greatest joys. The pain we

Highlighter Series
Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?

Culture, economic circumstances, family traditions, local customs and more can often influence us more than