2.25.2022
Central Cee Releases Highly-Anticipated 23 Mixtape, Out Now
The BRIT Award-Nominated Breakout Star Shares the New Video for “Straight Back To It“
With Over 1 Billion Streams in the Past Year Alone and With 4 Hits Currently on the UK Official Charts, the 23-Year-Old Artist Looks to Complete His Journey From Shepherd’s Bush to the Top of the Rap Game
Critical Praise:
“It’s been a busy, busy year for West London’s Central Cee. The rapper’s Wild West mixtape, released in the first half of the year, sent him jetting into the big time and things haven’t really slowed down since. A newly reopened live circuit welcomed Cench with open arms and he’s still found time for collabs with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Fredo, Oh Geesy, Blanco and quite a few more besides.” – Complex
“Gritty street-level drill from magnetic talent” – The Guardian
“Central Cee clearly has the tenacity and notoriety to resonate, while leaving room for allure; it makes his approach to the mic all the more fascinating.” – NME
“The Party-Starting Rapper Injecting Fun into Drill” – Noisey
The Mixtape:
Currently breaking globally in a way no UK rapper has done before, Central Cee’s rise has been exponential. With over 1 billion global streams in the past 12 months, today [February 25th, 2022] the 23-year-old rapper shares his highly anticipated 23 mixtape with the world. A matured and elevated sound, the 15 track project delves deeper into Cench’s mysterious character, sharing some of his most personal moments to date.
Cench kicked off 2022 with “Retail Therapy,” a hard-hitting, jazz-sampling video single (8+ million views), and “Cold Shoulder,” which explores the realities of Central Cee’s past and the process he’s currently going through. Last week, Cench hit back at the haters with the powerful “Khabib,” which arrived with a stellar visual shot in the mountains of Snowdonia, Wales. The “Khabib” video racked up more than 4 million YouTube views in just its first week of release, and debuted at #22 on the UK’s Official Charts.
Last night, ahead of the tape’s release, Central Cee shared “Straight Back To It.” A declaration of intent before he broke the unrivaled anticipation for 23, “Straight Back to It” also features a moment of spoken guidance from D Block Europe’s Young Adz.
From the dulcet tones of the romantic “Mrs” to the frank and honest family sentiment of “Lil Bro,” 23 is an inimitable offering; showcasing a breadth of talent and developing sound from Central Cee. A genre-busting project, the tape also reveals brand new music in the form of “Ungrateful,” “Bunda,” “Air BnB,”, “No Pain,” “Terminal 5,” “8 Ball,” “Eurovision,” and “End of The Beginning,” which features UK superstar Dave playing the piano. The continent-spanning, multi-lingual “Eurovision” marks the first time Cench welcomes featured artists to one of his tapes–Rondodasosa, Baby Gang, A2Anti, Morad, Benny Jr, and ASHE 22.
Central Cee is taking over and the 23 mixtape’s arrival is certain to propel him even further on his unparalleled journey from West London’s Shepherd’s Bush to the ranks of hip-hop’s global elite.
Buy/Stream 23: https://ada.lnk.to/Cench23
Watch “Straight Back To It”: https://ada.lnk.to/StraightBackToIt-Vid
Buy Central Cee merch: https://ada.lnk.to/23-Store
Read Central Cee’s recent cover story in The Face: https://theface.com/music/central-cee-cench-23-mixtape-rap-hip-hop-drill-ybeez-volume4-issue10
23 Tracklist:
- Khabib
- Straight Back To It
- Ungrateful
- Bunda
- Retail Therapy
- Eurovision ft. Rondodasosa, Baby Gang, A2Anti, Morad, Benny Jr, ASHE
- Cold Shoulder
- Mrs
- Air BnB
- No Pain
- Terminal 5
- Obsessed With You
- 8 Ball
- Lil Bro
- End of The Beginning
Please contact Michelle or Kevin for more info.
The Background:
Central Cee has an undeniable magnetism. On Christmas Day 2021, in the wake of his enormous Pink Pantheress-sampling single “Obsessed With You,” he released a GRM Daily Duppy (a performance on one of the UK’s most popular street rap platforms), which went on to be the highest charting in history. This year, after a stellar position in 2022’s BBC Sound Poll, Central Cee consequently received an astounding three BRIT Award nominations, for Best New Artist, Best Song, and Best British Hip Hop, Rap, Grime act. Late last year, Central Cee won Best Male Artist and Breakthrough Artist of The Year at the GRM Awards, accolades which add to his already incredible position as Spotify’s Radar Artist and YouTube’s Artist On The Rise, not to mention his recent double gong win at the MOBO Awards for Best Newcomer and Best Drill Act. The young superstar is currently gracing the cover of The Face Magazine, where he reveals the motivations that drive his rapid rise to the top.
Astounding fans and critics alike, CC’s independently released debut mixtape Wild West was the highest selling independent project of 2021 and 2021’s only UK debut project to go Gold. The mixtape landed in the wake of the hugely successful singles “Loading” and “Commitment Issues”, breaking internationally and sending his name reverberating across the globe. Cench has a keen eye for fashion–on his debut tape campaign, Cench collaborated with UK Streetwear brands Corteiz, and Trapstar on merch lines, both of which sold out within 60 minutes. The 23 mixtape campaign follows on in this vein, with CC releasing his own 23 merch, creating a fan-art led physical edition of the tape, and collaborating with Trapstar on a merch line once again.
With co-signs from The Guardian, Pitchfork, NME, Clash, The Face, Complex, Crack, the late Virgil Abloh and other global music icons, Central Cee is taking over, and the 23 mixtape’s arrival is certain to propel him even further on his unparalleled journey.
Links:
instagram | twitter | youtube | spotify | tiktok
23: https://ada.lnk.to/Cench23
“Straight Back To It”: https://ada.lnk.to/StraightBackToIt-Vid
“Khabib”: https://ada.lnk.to/Khabib / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-wf8Yb5ZCM
“Cold Shoulder”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8efu1VaDk0c
“Retail Therapy”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1CbX1k9m5Q
“Commitment Issues”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbHGtGSwoGA
Wild West: https://ada.lnk.to/Wild-West
“Loading”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ok-i3uGXkM
“Day In The Life”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq2JJf7jB00