Central Cee: Everything you need to know about the award-winning rapper

He's dropping his debut album in January 2025

Author: Asher BrandonPublished 2nd Nov 2024

British rapper Central Cee is really going places! From the success of his 2021 mixtape 'Wild West', to his multiple BRIT Award nominations and his upcoming debut album, Central Cee's success shows no sign of slowing down.

Now, following his TWO wins at the MOBO Awards in 2024, here's our lowdown on everything you NEED to know about the 'BAND4BAND' hitmaker, who you may have spotted on the cover of Vogue...

Who is Central Cee?

Central Cee, also known as 'Cench', is a British rapper from Shepherd's Bush, London. His style blends together elements of hip-hop, trap and UK drill. He first saw success when he appeared alongside J Hus, Bonkaz, and many more on the 'Ain't On Nuttin Remix' in 2015. He has since gone on to release a series of viral songs, such as 'Day in the Life' and 'Loading' in 2020.

In 2021 he released his first mixtape 'Wild West' to great success. The Mixtape debuted at Number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. His second mixtape, '23', will be released on 25th February 2022.

In January 2022, Central Cee was one of our KISS Hype Chart’s Ones To Watch.

How old is Central Cee?

He was born on 4th June 1998, making him currently 26-years-old.

Celebrating his birthday in 2024, Central Cee uploaded some adorable throwback pics to Instagram, truly showing he has had style since day one - with one fan even commenting: 'Bro had swag since birth'. (sic)

What is Central Cee's real name?

Central Cee's real name is Oakley Neil H. T. Caesar-Su.

Central Cee's early days

Central Cee was born in Ladbroke Grove and grew up near Shepherd's Bush. Growing up in West London he was exposed to a wide range of Black genres of music, such as reggae, jazz, dancehall and rap. These genres inform his eclectic style.

His dad's taste in music also played an important part in Central Cee's development as an artist. His dad would listen to old school hip-hop with him and his brothers, who would make up rhymes together. He began writing his first raps at the age of eight, and the earlier influence of his dad's music taste no doubt played a large role in these ambitions.

Talking to Crack Magazine in 2021, he explained how his upbringing had influenced his identity as an artist. He said: "I didn’t have anyone older than me besides cousins who I didn’t spend much time with. It made me grow up faster, I had to be more aware and responsible.

“There are a lot of invaluable lessons you can learn on the roads. I think I learned more on my way to and from school rather than in it – at least skills that would help me survive."

He spoke out about his family background in an interview with Vogue published in March 2023: "My dad’s Guyanese and Chinese, and my mum’s English," with the writer noting that he'd hesitated before answering.

He added that his early life had shaped his creativity: "Not having much, my mum’s hardships... I was taking them on myself, subconsciously. I wanted to take matters into my own hands."

He wrote poetry as a child: "Just how I’m feeling at the time, in a therapeutic way, not how most hit songs sound now." He then discussed how his parents' relationship was "better than ever", adding that it was "due to the blessing that music has brought me, and the peace of mind it’s come with - that’s something I’m thankful for."

Central Cee appears in the April 2023 edition of Vogue magazine

Central Cee's upcoming debt album

After years of keeping his fans guessing when his debut album might drop, Central Cee announced in November 2024 that it was heading our way in January 2025. In a post on Instagram, the rapper simply said: 'DEBUT ALBUM. CAN’T RUSH GREATNESS. 24th JANUARY 2025. CENTRALCEE.COM.'

The news followed a number of posts dropping new singles, including a collaboration with RAYE, which is set to appear on the upcoming album.

New music

Throughout 2024, Central Cee has dropped a number of new songs, including 'BAND4BAND' featuring Lil Baby, which went to Number 3 and is certified Gold, 'Moi' featuring RAYE and the latest track 'One By One'.

In July 2024, Cench also featured on Ice Spice's track 'Did It First' which spent nine weeks in the UK chart.

Has he been on the cover of Vogue?

Yes! In June 2024, it was revealed that Central Cee had landed the honourable cover of Vogue, for July Style & Sound issue - making him the third solo male cover star in British Vogue’s history.

On the second edition, with the July edition being a dual cover offering, he is joined by model Mona Tougaard.

The July 2024 Style & Sound edition boasts a photography portfolio that spotlights up and coming talent from Britain's vibrant music scene. With Central Cee being the stylish trend-setting icon that he is, he was the perfect pick.

Speaking on his style - most notably, his love for tracksuits - he told British Vogue: "I don’t wanna be seen as a character", continuing: "This is who I am."

Central Cee at the BRIT Awards

Central Cee was nominated for three BRIT awards at The BRIT Awards 2022 with Mastercard - Best New Artist, which he lost to Little Simz, Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act and Song of the Year for 'Obsessed With You', which he lost to Adele.

Whilst he didn't take home any awards, for a rapper that was new to the game, those nominations were an achievement in itself. Song of the Year is one of the biggest awards of the night, and to be nominated alongside stars such as Adele, Ed Sheeran and Dave really spoke to how far his career had come at that time.

He was once again nominated for two awards at the 2023 ceremony - British Artist of the Year and Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act. Sadly, he didn't take home either gong, losing out to Harry Styles and Aitch respectively.

MOBO Awards

After winning Best Newcomer and Best Drill Act at the MOBO Awards 2021, Cench was nominated in FOUR categories at the MOBO Awards 2022! These were: Best Male Act, Best Drill Act (supported by Trench), Song of The Year (in association with Lucozade) and Video of The Year (in association with McCrispy) for ‘Doja’.

Picking up an impressive total of two awards at the ceremony, Central Cee took home the gongs for Best Male Act and Video of The Year.

He won big yet again at the MOBOs in 2024, taking home the Best Male Act gong as well as Song of The Year with Dave for ‘Sprinter’.

WATCH: Central Cee 2021 BEST NEWCOMER Acceptance Speech | #MOBOAwards

Is Central Cee friends with Digga D?

Central Cee and Digga D are said to have attended Chelsea Academy in London together, before Digga D was kicked out of school in Year 8. Central Cee was a couple of school years higher than Digga.

Whilst it's unclear whether the two crossed paths in school, they collaborated on the song 'Back2Back' together in 2021. Despite the success of this collab, it seems Central Cee and Digga are unlikely to collaborate again any time soon, as they are currently embroiled in a bit of a rivalry.

The rivalry started with Digga dropping an untitled track in which he dissed Central Cee. Digga rapped: “Who the f*** is Central Cee? The only wild in west is we," a reference to Central Cee's 2021 mixtape 'Wild West'.

Is he still dating Kenza Boutrif?

Whilst it was never officially confirmed, Central Cee was said to have been dating model Kenza Boutrif. The two were first linked when she appeared in the music video for his song 'Commitment Issues.'

The two were never confirmed to be dating, however, and as they have not appeared together recently they seem to have either ended any relationship they did have, or it could have just been a rumour.

Does Central Cee have a girlfriend?

Although there have been rumours floating around about who he is dating, Central Cee has never addressed them, leading us to believe he is currently single.

In his March 2023 Vogue interview, Cench spoke about his attitude to love: "I don’t think I’ve been in love... I mean, I don’t know. You can probably get a better picture from my music. In rap, I can articulate myself better – you can get a better understanding of who I am."

Central Cee at Glastonbury 2023

Central Cee performed at Glastonbury Festival in June 2023, taking to the Other Stage to perform 'Commitment Issues' and 'Doja'. During the epic set, he also brought out Dave to perform their huge collab 'Sprinter', which as of December 2023 is certified 2x Platinum by the BPI.

A breakdown of Central Cee's career:

2015: Central Cee appears on 'Ain't On Nuttin Remix'

Central Cee first got his start in January 2015, when he appeared on 'Ain't On Nuttin Remix' alongside UK rap heavy weights Bonkaz, J Hus, Reeko, Yung Reeks, Wholagun, Bully, and Shower Malik (wow, talk about a stacked line up).

This appearance was big for Central Cee and showed he could go toe to toe with legends such as J Hus, whilst also bringing something new to the table. He was credited on the track as 'Central C', but he went on to change his name to 'Central Cee'.

In February of the same year he released his 'StreetHeat Freestyle' for Link Up TV, which brought him further recognition.

2016 - 2018: Career beginnings

Central Cee spent the next couple of years laying the groundwork for what would become a very successful career. In 2016 he released 'Pull Up', a song with dancehall influences that showed off his versatility as an artist. In 2018 he released his debut EP '17'.

2019: Change in sound

In 2019 Central Cee released his incredible 'Next Up?' freestyle for Mixtape Madness which further proved his skill as a rapper. In the same year he also met his future manager YBeez, who encouraged him to pursue a UK drill sound as opposed to his previously auto-tuned sound. This stylistic change was a big moment in the rapper's career.

2020: Release of 'Day in the life' and viral success

In 2020, Central Cee debuted his new sound. He release the single 'Day in the Life' in June 2020. This was his breakout single and was a big success for the rapper. He followed it up with the release of 'Loading' in October. 'Loading' was even more successful, being the first of his songs to reach the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart.

2021: Release of 'Wild West'

2021 was a great year for Central Cee. He started the year off strong with the release of his debut mixtape 'Wild West' in April. The mixtape debuted at Number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and Number 1 on the UK R&B Albums Chart, an amazing achievement for the rapper.

He followed this up with the release of his single 'Obsessed With You' in September, which reached Number 4 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his second single to reach the Top 20.

2022: BRIT Award nominations

2022 started off with a bang for Central Cee, who was was nominated for three BRIT Awards at The BRIT Awards 2022 with Mastercard. He was nominated for Best New Artist, Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act, and Song of the Year for 'Obsessed With You'.

Whilst he didn't take home any awards, this was still a massive moment for the rapper, especially so early in his career. We're sure the release of '23' will spell more nominations for him in 2023.

2022: Second mixtape

Central Cee released his second mixtape '23' on 25th February 2022. It featured 'Obsessed With You' as its lead single. The second and third singles from the mixtape, 'Retail Therapy' and 'Cold Shoulder', were released on 6th January and 27th January respectively.

2022: MOBO Award top winner

2022 rounded up on a high for Central Cee! Bagging a whopping four nominations at the MOBO 2022 Awards, he took home two wins - Best Male Act, and Video of The Year (in association with McCrispy) for 'Doja'. The rapper ended the night as one of the top winners!

2022: 'No More Leaks' EP

Cench released his surprise EP 'No More Leaks' in October 2022, which contained hits 'One Up' and 'Let Go'. 'Let Go' featured a sample of Passenger's 2012 hit, 'Let Her Go', and was certified Platinum with 600,000 UK sales in May 2024. He also became the first UK rapper to achieve 1 billion streams on Spotify in a single year - wow!

2023: Collaborative EP with Dave and Glastonbury performance

In June 2023, Central Cee dropped a collaborative EP with fellow British rapper Dave, entitled 'Split Decision' and featuring the smash hit 'Sprinter' which became Cench's first UK Number 1 single. Dave then joined Central Cee to perform the hit during the latter's set at Glastonbury Festival 2023 - what a moment!

The following month, Central Cee released 'On the Radar Freestyle' featuring Drake, and in October featured on 'Too Much' by The Kid LAROI and Jungkook.

2024: MOBO Award wins

Although he couldn't attend in person, Central Cee took home two MOBO Awards at the 2023 ceremony - which took place in February 2024. He won Best Male Act and Song of the Year for 'Sprinter' with Dave, and was additionally nominated for Best Drill Act.

At the BRIT Awards 2024, which took place a month later, Central Cee was nominated for a whopping four gongs: Song of the Year for 'Sprinter' with a second nomination in that category for 'Let Go', plus British Artist of the Year and Best British Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act. Although he didn't win any, it's still a pretty huge moment.

2024: Central Cee announces debut album

In November 2024, Central Cee announced he'd be dropping his long-awaited debut album on 24th January 2025. 'Can't Rush Greatness' has been recorded over the last year in different locations around the world - and is set to feature a number of producers, including Dave!
In the same week, the rapper also dropped his latest single 'One By One'.