On Central Cee’s debut mixtape, “Wild West” the intro song is called, “6 for 6”. The first words said on the song are, “put in the work for years for this, this ain’t no coincidence.” From Link Up TV freestyles in 2015, to a #1 album in the UK, Central Cee’s success definitely isn’t a coincidence. It is a combination of hard work, talent and an almost perfect marketing scheme. Prior to the release of “23”, Central Cee dropped “Wild West”, his debut mixtape. On the song “Khabib” he boasts about “painting his city orange” referring to London having his cover on billboards all over the city. Which brings up back to the marketing plan crafted by Cench (a nickname for Central Cee) and his manager Ybeez. With “Wild West” the theme of the project was orange. All the videos, album promo and merch were drowned in orange, and it caught on around the city. “Wild West” ended up peaking at #2 on the English charts with smash hits like “Loading” and “Day In The Life”. For “23” they kept the same formula, making the theme/color of the album yellow.
“I know they hate that they can’t ignore me, I’m all over London Town”
It’s not just the color of the merch and albums that sent Cench to the top of the English rap scene, it’s also just the insane creativity. From taking the “UK drill” sound and incorporating his own and creating his own style for music videos, he took the UK by storm. He can go from rapping about being able to just pick up his things and go to “Terminal 5” to confessing how “Ungrateful” he is for the lavish life he is living. From the lyrical content down to the beat selection, Cench has just got it right now. It seems that no matter what he drops, it’s going to succeed. And that attests to his crazy work ethic and focus. While it took him a lot to get to the top, he doesn’t want to lose that #1 spot. The 24 year-old doesn’t smoke or drink and raps about his nonstop work in “Straight Back to It“.
“Done a graveyard shift last night. Woke up today and got straight back to it.”
Not only has he taken over the UK, but his reach has expanded even further to Europe and now America. Cench connected artists and fanbases around Europe on “23” for one of his two songs with features on the album. “Eurovision“, a song featuring rappers from Spain, Italy and France, has over 28 million views since its release in late February. Yesterday, he dropped a video with the famous Cole Bennett and Lyrical Lemonade for a song called, “Doja“. The video already has over 1.2 million views in only eight hours.
“The UK don’t know what I’m doin’, they say Cench ain’t got a regular fanbase”
While the Shepherd’s Bush native may always be telling the kids to stay in school, he’s making it quite hard for them to not want to follow his path. Cench has cleared every rapper in England and the numbers are backing it. While he may talk about his newfound fame and riches, Cench has always seemed to fit in the introspective and vulnerable bars. While he’s appreciative of what he has earned, he is constantly trying to tell the youth that it isn’t all gold and glory.
“I thought roads was cool as a young boy. It’s not though, I got mislead”
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the trap, I just can’t glorify it”
What an album though honestly. Listening to “23” makes me feel like I’ve been raised in Shepherd’s Bush my whole life and I’m hearing a first person account of what it is like there. From the production of Young Chencs, the quality of music videos and of course the indescribable flow, you simply can’t overlook Central Cee. He’s taking over the game and he’ll be heading the charts in America soon. Don’t be surprised when you see it.
Favorite Songs
- Cold Shoulder
- Straight Back to It
- Khabib
- Bunda
- Retail Therapy
- Eurovision ft. Rondodasosa, Baby Gang, A2 Anti, Morad, Beny Jr, ASHE 22 & Freeze corleone
- Air Bnb
- Terminal 5
- Obsessed With You
- Ungrateful
- 8 Ball
- Lil Bro ft. Lil Bro
- No Pain
- End of the Beginning
- Mrs
Rating: 9/10
From “Day In The Life” to “Doja”, Central Cee has almost made his come-up look effortless. But like he said in “6 for 6”, “put in the work for years for this, this ain’t no coincidence.” This album has stuck with me ever since my first listen. It’s almost guaranteed a spot in my top five at the end of the year. The question is, will it take the #1 spot? This is YSN, until next time, signing out.
