Photo : Minette Lontsie, CC BY-SA 4.0
Ben Decca
The velvet voice of makossa for more than forty years
Born in 1958
Related city : Douala
Related music genre : Makossa
Who are they?
A singer-songwriter born in Douala in 1958, the eldest brother in a family of musicians that also includes Grace, Dora and Isaac Decca. He went to France to study automotive engineering, qualified as a motor assessor, and took his first steps in music there in the late 1970s with the help of his cousin Joe Mboule.
What made them famous
A leading figure of 1980s and 1990s makossa, he sings mostly about love, in French and Duala, in a smooth voice that became his signature. Songs such as “Ye Te Na Oa” and albums such as “Amour à sens unique” and “Classe Plus” have marked a career of more than twenty-five albums.
Key facts
- His first solo record was released in 1981.
- He recorded a duet album with his sister Grace Decca, whom he launched by bringing her in as a backing singer.
- Made a Knight of the Order of Valour in 2015.
- On 4 May 2025 he celebrated more than forty years in music with his first concert at the Paris Olympia.