Performing in a samba style that also explored soul, funk, rock and bossa nova sounds,[1] Ben has recorded such well-known songs as "Chove Chuva", "Mas Que Nada", "Ive Brussel" and "Balança Pema".

He also took part as a pandeiro player in the blocos of Carnaval, and from eighteen years of age, he began performing at parties and nightclubs with the guitar given to him by his mother.

The hybrid rhythms that Jorge employed brought him some problems at the start of his career, when Brazilian music was split between the rockier sounds of the Jovem Guarda and traditional samba with its complex lyrics.

Holdings both television programs O Fino da Bossa and Jovem Guarda from Rede Record, after being reprimanded by the production of "O Fino da Bossa", chose to participate in the Jovem Guarda, soon after, joined the program Divino, Maravilhoso from TV Tupi, presented by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.

[7] Jorge Ben's first public appearances were in small festivals organised by his friends, where bossa nova and rock and roll predominated.

The album was noted for "País Tropical", one of his most famous compositions, although it would be Wilson Simonal who would take his recording of the song to the top of the charts in Brazil that same year.

The following year he released one of his most popular albums, África Brasil (1976), a fusion of funk and samba which relied more on the electric guitar than previous efforts.

He collaborated with hip-hop artists Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, and Bilal to remake Fela Kuti's famous song "Shuffering and Shmiling" for the CD.

Jorge Ben is also a big fan of Flamengo, a Brazilian football club, located in Rio de Janeiro, which counts Zico, Junior and Leandro among their former star players.

Ben's interest in football carries over to his music, as many of his songs deal with the subject, such as "Flamengo", "Camisa 10 da Gávea", "Ponta De Lança Africano (Umbabarauma)", "Zagueiro", "Fio Maravilha", and "A Loba Comeu o Canário".