Central Cee is on top of the world. Part of west London’s contemporary rap dynasty, he took to Instagram 24 hours after the release of his final album single GBP to boast about just how well he was doing. “Great start,” he posted to his over 13 million followers, accompanied by a screenshot from YouTube in which he was trending.
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These days, most of what Cench (as his fans call him) posts turns to gold; he’s reached the apex of UK rap, but it has taken more than a decade to reach his latest milestone: the coveted inaugural album. Like its title, Can’t Rush Greatness, Cench is aware of the pressures of a debut. “The album needs to be bigger. Better,” he noted last year.
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On No Intro, Central Cee, born Oakley Neil Caesar-Su, looks at what lies between his roots and the stardom he’s enjoyed in the wake of singles like Doja, Let Go, Loading, and Sprinter. “I want a simplistic life, but that’s not realistic,” he raps.
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Much of Can't Rush Greatness’ introduction weds itself to a usual formula: Cench boasting about lavish lifestyles, flexing the women he’s been in proximity to and exploring his ascendancy in his lyricism. Whether it's the comic relief found in living next to a potential ‘Karen’ (Gata), or the annoyance around people waiting for him to flop (Top Freestyle), Central Cee gets his lick back, juxtaposing nonchalance and grit as he flexes his muscles.
With his star now ascended, he’s also aware of the poking in his rearview – be it blogs, tweets, or west London rivalry – but simply doesn’t respond (this was best evidenced in the now deleted CC Freestyle, a highly speculated Digga D retort).
