CENTRAL CEE'S STATESIDE CENTRALITY

In the 41 years of U.K. hip-hop, few British rappers have made an impact across the pond. But Central Cee is decisively bucking that trend.

When the 26-year-old West London spitter hooked up with platinum Bronx, New York drill queen Ice Spice on her 2024 battle-of-the-sexes bop “Did It First,” the single went viral, earning north of 100 million Spotify streams and racking up 135 million views on TikTok. For many American fans, the cheating anthem was their official introduction to the swaggering, witty Cee.

Yet some of hip-hop’s biggest names were already well schooled on the buzzy young artist. Following his much-discussed 2023 freestyle cipher with Drake on New York’s Power 105 show On the Radar, Cee was tapped to appear on J. Cole’s surprise 2024 mixtape, Might Delete Later (specifically on the Bas-featured cut “H.Y.B.”).

A month later, Cee linked up with chart-topper Lil Baby for the British MC’s hard-charging declaration of opulence, “Band4Band,” which debuted at #4 on the U.K. Singles Chart and reached #18 on the Hot 100, his highest U.S. showing to date. “Lambo parked on the landing strip, everyone in my gang and my DJ paid/Why’s my man talkin’ bout Inshallah?/Three times, he don’t even pray…,” a cocksure Cee delivered.

Since its release, “Band4Band” has pulled in over 430 million streams. Not bad for a formerly struggling Guyanese-Chinese-English kid from the council who got caught up in the dangerous pharmaceutical street trade in London before getting serious about hip-hop. By 2016 he had dropped his first official song, “Pull Up,” eventually garnering co-signs from British hip-hop royalty Skepta and Chip. It’s certainly an impressive flex for an artist who was so hungry to make it at 17 that he self-financed a headlining show at London’s Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen.

Today Central Cee ranks as a prominent voice in the international rap scene. His 2023 track with fellow U.K. lyricist Dave, “Sprinter,” sat atop the U.K. singles charts for 10 weeks, reaching #1 in Sweden, Australia, Ireland and other territories (Cee previously peaked at #2 with his 2022 solo single “Doja,” which became the most steamed U.K. hip-hop song on Spotify). Cee would later take home Best Male Act as well as Song of the Year (with Dave) at 2024’s MOBO Awards.

“I have to try and celebrate as much as I can,” he opened up in a July 2024 interview with British Vogue about his whirlwind run, “’cause it can all be over so quick, bro.”

Cee is still grinding. In August, he surprised followers with the introspective statement “Billion Streams Freestyle,” which saw him pondering the sobering side of fame (“I’m missing the times I would walk down Shoreditch without fans recording…”) and looking back on his turbulent childhood (“My dad was homeless with four children. /He can’t even afford them.”). A day later, he released the two-fisted record “Bolide Noir,” featuring French rapper JRK 19.

With his long-awaited debut album Can’t Rush Greatness set to drop later this year—and Grammy buzz growing—Central Cee won’t be letting up anytime soon.