We’re looking forward to introducing you to Benjamin Caleb cgp. Check out our conversation below.
Benjamin , a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
That’s a deep question.
A lot of people only see what you become professionally or financially, they forget that there’s something very deep behind: to be more human than yesterday. Of course I’m proud of the guitar player that I have become, I’m more proud of the man I’m trying to become.
And I think that people don’t see it often, I have worked and I am still working on it, to become more human, authentic and true to myself, I cannot be a great musician if I am not a good human being.
And it’s a rare quality that most people never see. It’s probably the first thing we must learn in life, to be a good human being, to have a pure soul.
This is what the world needs the most, humanity.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Benjamin Caleb, a Fingerstyle guitar player, songwriter, and teacher from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Won an award for the Best Artist of the Year and The best AFROPOP performance of the year.
I specialize in a rare style in Africa—fingerpicking—which allows me to play melody, harmony, and bass simultaneously on a single guitar.
Since starting my career in 2015, I’ve been driven by a mission to promote fingerstyle guitar across Africa and beyond.
What makes my journey unique is not only the music but the mindset behind it. I follow my heart and instincts, even when others don’t understand my path. I work up to 20 hours a day on my instrument, and I draw constant inspiration from Tommy Emmanuel, my mentor and the artist who opened my eyes to the possibilities of the guitar.
Along the way, I’ve been humbled to receive recognition from legendary musicians such as Trey Hensley, James Taylor, Joe Robinson, and Adam Jones. I’m honoured to be seen as the African ambassador of Country and Fingerstyle Music, with attention from prestigious institutions like The Grand Ole Opry.
Right now, I’m on tour since 2023, blending my original compositions with blues, rock, classical and modern sounds, my goal is simple: to show that Africa has a powerful voice in the global Fingerstyle world, and to inspire the next generation of musicians to marry technical skill with emotional storytelling.
And that’s why i created The Tommy Emmanuel Music Academy, just to offer young Africans, the opportunity that I didn’t have. When I started, I was missing several things:
• Direct access to mentors who could guide me step by step in fingerstyle.
• A learning community, with other passionate musicians who share the same vision and encourage each other.
• Tailored educational resources, such as structured courses, masterclasses, or equipment to help you progress faster.
• An international outlook, to understand how to position yourself as an African musician in a style that’s still very underrepresented here.
• And above all, a space that values authenticity, where you are taught to be yourself by developing your own musical voice.
The academy is not only a place to perfect technique, it’s also a space to grow as a musician and as a person.
We work on interpretation and creativity, but also discipline, self-confidence, and artistic authenticity.
My goal is to pass on to young people what I myself learned by listening to and following great masters, while giving them the tools to develop their own musical voice.
Africa is full of incredible talent, and I want this academy to become a launching pad for them, so that they can shine not only on the continent, but also on the international stage.”
These days, I am in a phase of intense preparation for my future collaborations with Tommy Emmanuel, Shane Hennessy and Joe Robinson.
They are three artists that I admire very much, each with a unique approach to fingerstyle.
With Tommy, there is this incredible energy, this way of transforming every note into raw emotion.
With Joe, it’s virtuosity and modernity, his ability to mix genres and a great electric guitar playing.
With Shane, incredibly creative, technical and innovative. It transforms the guitar into a true orchestra, with a unique sense of rhythm, harmonies and musical narration. His music is both modern, deep and very expressive.
Preparing to work with them is not just repeating or perfecting my technique. It is also an inner work. I have to think about what I bring, as an African artist, to this meeting.
My role is to show the richness of our influences, to make a voice heard that comes from Congo, and that dialogues with theirs.
I spend a lot of time composing, revisiting some of my songs to adapt them to this collaborative format, and also listening even more carefully to their music to understand their universe. I don’t want to arrive as a student, but as a creative partner, with my own musical identity, ready to dialogue with theirs.
For me, this preparation is already an immense learning, and I believe that when the time comes to play together, it will be an encounter not only musical, but also human, which will mark my journey.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
This is a very complex question for me.
I have experienced too many things in my life, I probably won’t be able to tell you about some of them, I just can’t. But everytime it changes my way to see the world.
But my worldview was truly deepened by tragedy. My siblings passed away at the same time, they were poisoned by someone close to our family. Experiencing such a senseless loss at a young age taught me how fragile life is, how unpredictable people can be, and how important is to live for love.
That pain also strengthened my resolve to pursue music with heart and discipline, honoring their memory through every note I play, the death of my siblings taught me that life means nothing if you live for others, if you live to please them.
What changed my way of seeing the world was also when my family and I found ourselves alone and without support after a series of tragedies. People who claimed to be our friends and our families and our supporters, turned completely against us, and you can imagine how much that can change a man.
The good thing is that I wrote a lot of sad songs along the way, The best songs come from broken hearts, they say.
A big thanks to Joe Robinson, who was a great help at that moment.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Ohh another good question.
You know, the truth about yourself is found in collapse, so don’t be afraid to suffer, the pain you feel is not an obstacle to run from — it’s a teacher, You have to accept it, let it break you down, tear you apart, and reduce you to nothing, It pulls you down, deep into your soul, where everything that’s not essential falls away, where the masks fall off, until the real you remains.
Suffering reveals what the light of success can never show: who you truly are, what you are willing to sacrifice, and it reveals what people really think about you.
Success can lift you up, applaud you, and shine on you, but it cannot shape the soul as suffering does, it cannot teach you how to be reborn after being broken, suffering teaches you to get up after each failure, it makes you strong. It reveals the face of everyone around you, so you can know what really matters.
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. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
His name is Samuel Kalulika, a close friend of mine, it’s strange how much we can be friends with someone very different from us, someone who grew up in an environment different from ours, but I admire him too much for one thing, hatred of injustice.
In our world, we often see people protecting their loved ones, even if when they’re wrong. It’s like a reflex: defending your brother, your friend, your clan, sometimes at the expense of the truth.
But Sam is different.There’s an inner strength in him that prevents him from turning a blind eye to injustice.
What touches me deeply is that he doesn’t act out of rebellion or provocation. He acts out of conviction. For him, justice is above emotional ties. Even if it’s his own brother who hurt someone, he’ll be able to say, “No, you did wrong there.” And he’ll side with the person who suffered injustice.
Few people have this courage, because it requires sacrificing something: the comfort of relationships, the image you project, sometimes even the love or trust of those close to you.
But Sam still chooses the truth.
And I find that admirable and rare… because it reminds us that true love, fidelity and loyalty, is not about covering up the mistakes of those we love, but about helping them grow in the truth.”
Shoutout to my friend Sam and his wife Prisca.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
That’s a deep and reflective question to me, i will try to answer with my whole heart.
I think, what people most misunderstand about a person’s legacy is the intent behind their work. Legacies tend to get reduced to successes, titles, influence and awards. While the inner drive, the struggles, determination and the sacrifices that shaped them, fade into the background.
People might remember the music, but not the nights of doubt and discipline that made it possible.
They might see the ambition, but not the vulnerability or humanity behind it.
They may frame the legacy as belonging to a genre, movement, or era, while missing the fact that, the person was reaching for something bigger, something deeply personal.
So, what people will most misunderstand about my legacy is the reason I make music. Some will probably say it was about money and fame, about being the African ambassador of this art form, or even about chasing international recognition.
But for me, it was never about that, It was about telling stories without words, about carrying pieces of my
being: my struggles, my faith, my pain and my hope, through sound.
People may look back and see the success, the tours, the collaborations, and think that is the whole story.
What they might miss is that behind every note was a human being searching for connection, for healing, for something bigger than himself.
My legacy, if it means anything, isn’t about being the best guitarist or the most recognized—it’s about whether my music touched hearts and inspired others to keep going, to dream, and to believe in their own voice, and by the way, that’s why i created THE TOMMY EMMANUEL MUSIC ACADEMY.
That’s what I hope will shine through, even if it gets misunderstood.
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Image Credits
AfriGuit
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