Oakley Neil H. T. Caesar-Su (born 4 June 1998), known professionally as Central Cee, is a British rapper and songwriter from
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character, i ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
He rose to prominence in 2020 with the release of the singles "Day in the Life" and "Loading". His first mixtape ''
Wild West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
'' was released on 12 March 2021, which debuted at number two on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
.
His second mixtape ''
23'' was released on 25 February 2022 and debuted atop the UK Albums Chart.
Early life
Oakley Neil H T Caesar-Su was born on 4 June 1998 in
Ladbroke Grove, London
Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue.
It is also a name given to ...
, but relocated to
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character, i ...
early in his life. He was raised by his mother alongside three younger brothers, one of which is Juke Caesar, who appeared on the ''23'' mixtape under the name "Lil Bro". When Caesar-Su visited his father, he would be shown American hip-hop. He would also be exposed to reggae and dancehall when he attended
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966 . Caesar-Su has stated that he kept to himself in school, but would occasionally misbehave and lose his temper. He went to the same school as rapper
Digga D
Rhys Angelo Emile Herbert (born 29 June 2000), known professionally as Digga D, is a British rapper and director. He had multiple singles that have been placed in the UK Singles Chart; his mixtape albums '' Double Tap Diaries'' and '' Made In ...
, being a couple of school years higher. Caesar-Su began recording music when he was 14. He worked at a shoe store for three weeks before finding out his wage and quitting.
Career
2014–2019: Career beginnings
Ceasar-Su made his first public appearance on a now-deleted episode of
Charlie Sloth
Charlie Ian Paul Rouillon (born 20 August 1981), known professionally as Charlie Sloth, is a British DJ, hype man, producer and TV presenter.
Early life
Charlie Ian Paul Rouillon was born on 20 August 1981. He was raised in the London Boroug ...
's ''Fire In The Streets'' series in 2014, where he adopted the rapper name "Central Cee" (first listed as Central C). His first song appearance was on the "Ain't On Nuttin Remix" alongside
J Hus
Momodou Lamin Jallow (born 27 May 1995), known professionally as J Hus, is a British rapper and singer who has been credited with pioneering the genre afroswing. He is currently signed to Black Butter Records. He gained popularity in 2015 follo ...
, Bonkaz, and more in January 2015. He released his "StreetHeat Freestyle" in February of the same year. He later released the single "Pull Up" in August 2016. Central Cee In March 2017, Central Cee made an appearance on music platform BL@CKBOX and performed verses to
Tupac
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...
instrumentals alongside Drey Bambino. Central Cee released his first projects, the EP ''17'', and a now-deleted EP titled ''Nostalgia'' in 2017.
His "Next Up?" freestyle was released in October 2019, following a number of singles that released that year.
2020–2021: Viral success and ''Wild West''
Central Cee met his future manager YBeeez in 2019, who encouraged him to pursue music further. After switching from
auto-tuned
Auto-Tune (or autotune) is an audio processor introduced in 1996 by American company Antares Audio Technologies. Auto-Tune uses a proprietary device to measure and alter pitch in vocal and instrumental music recording and performances.
Auto-Tu ...
hip hop to a style similar to
UK drill
UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. Initially borrowing heavily from the style of Chicago drill music before creating its own unique sound, UK drill artists ...
, Central Cee released his breakout single "Day in the Life" on 14 June 2020. He followed it up with "Molly" in July, and achieved further success with the single "Loading", released on 22 October 2020. The music videos for the three tracks were released by
GRM Daily
GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and Briti ...
. "Loading" and February 2021's "Commitment Issues" both reached the top 20 of the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. Central Cee
self-released
Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...
his debut mixtape ''
Wild West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
'' in March 2021, which debuted at number two on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
and number one on the
UK R&B Albums Chart
The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...
.
2021–present: ''23'' and ''No More Leaks''
In September 2021,
[ the single "]Obsessed with You
"Obsessed with You" is a song by British rapper and songwriter Central Cee. It was released on 10 September 2021 and reached number 4 in the United Kingdom, the first single from Central Cee's second mixtape '' 23''. The song samples "Just for Me ...
" reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart, which would become the lead single from his second mixtape, ''23'', announced in November 2021. Central Cee's Daily Duppy was released on Christmas of 2021. The second and third singles from the mixtape, "Retail Therapy" and "Cold Shoulder", were released on 6 January and 27 January 2022.[ On 25 February 2022, '' 23'' was released and became his first number one on the UK Albums Chart.
Following previews at concerts and on social media, his single “]Doja
DoJa profile is a Java application environment specification for DoCoMo's i-mode mobile phone.
DoJa is based on the Java ME CLDC API that is defined in the Java Community Process (JCP). DoJa is a profile defined by NTT DoCoMo to provide communi ...
” released on 21 July 2022 alongside a music video directed by Cole Bennett
Cole Michael Bennett (born May 14, 1996) is an American business executive, videographer, and music video director. His multimedia company, Lyrical Lemonade, started in 2013 as an internet blog while he was in high school.
Early life
Cole Be ...
. It became his highest charting song of his career, debuting at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also reached number 13 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. On 14 October 2022, Central Cee surprise released his debut EP, ''No More Leaks'', which was supported by the single "One Up
"One Up" is a song by British rapper and songwriter Central Cee. It was released on 13 October 2022 as the lead single from his EP, ''No More Leaks''.
Music video
The video, directed by Suave, shows Central Cee driving around London
Lon ...
" which released the day before. On 16 December 2022, he released the single " Let Go", which samples the Passenger
A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...
single " Let Her Go" and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart. In 2022, Central Cee became the first UK rapper to achieve 1 billion Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
streams in a single year. On 9 February 2023, he released the single "Me & You".
Modeling
Central Cee made his modeling debut for Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
's Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...
X Nocta
Aubrey Drake Graham ( ; born October 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper and singer. An influential figure in contemporary popular music, Drake has been credited for popularizing singing and R&B sensibilities in hip hop. He gained recognition by ...
collection on 6 April 2021. He fronted Jaquemus' "Neve World" campaign in November 2022.
Artistry
Central Cee initially made music under the "trap-wave" genre, a style of British hip hop which utilizes auto-tuned singing. His first song that deviated from the genre was the June 2020 single "Day in the Life" and has mostly stuck to that style since then, stating that the auto-tune style was oversaturated. His current style of music has been described as a melodic and upbeat approach to UK drill.
Discography
Mixtapes
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other charted songs
Guest appearances
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cee, Central
English male rappers
Living people
1998 births
Rappers from London
UK drill musicians
People from Shepherd's Bush
English people of Guyanese descent
English people of Irish descent
English people of Ecuadorian descent