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Central Cee
Central Cee in October 2019
Born
Oakley Caesar-Su

(1998-06-04) 4 June 1998 (age 25) [1] [2]
Ladbroke Grove, London, England
Other namesCench [1]
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
Years active2014–present
Works Discography
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Website centralcee.com

Oakley Caesar-Su (born 4 June 1998), known professionally as Central Cee, is a British rapper from Shepherd's Bush, London. [1] He rose to prominence in 2020 with the release of the singles "Day in the Life" and "Loading". [4] His first mixtape Wild West was released on 12 March 2021, which debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. [5] His second mixtape 23 was released on 25 February 2022 and debuted atop the UK Albums Chart.

Central Cee achieved further success with his single " Doja" in July 2022, which peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and eventually became the most streamed UK rap song on Spotify. [6] [7] He released his first major-label EP No More Leaks in October 2022. [8] In June 2023, he released the single " Sprinter" with Dave, which became his first UK number-one single and preceded their collaborative EP Split Decision. [9] The single also became the longest-running number-one rap song in the UK, holding the position for 10 weeks. [10]

Early life

Oakley Neil H.T. Caesar-Su was born on 4 June 1998, in Ladbroke Grove, London to an English mother and a father of Chinese and Guyanese origin. [11] [12] His mother Rachel Caesar met his father at age 15, and began dating him against her parents' wishes, subsequently getting cut off financially. [13] When Central Cee was seven, his parents separated and he began living with his mother and two younger brothers in Shepherd's Bush. He has an additional half-brother. [14] [11] One of his brothers is Juke Caesar, who appeared on the 23 mixtape under the name "Lil Bro". [15]

When Caesar-Su visited his father, he would be shown American hip-hop. [16] He would also be exposed to reggae and dancehall when he attended Notting Hill Carnival. [17] 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, being 2 years his senior. [18] Caesar-Su left school at age 16. [19]

Caesar-Su began recording music when he was 14 after being inspired by a friend who took him to a recording studio. [11] He worked at a shoe store for three weeks before finding out his wage and quitting. [20] Caesar-Su eventually turned to selling drugs to earn money, stating, "When you're coming from where I'm coming from, everybody from all walks of life, nine times out of 10, they had to do that. It's like learning to ride a bike." [13]

Career

2014–2019: Career beginnings

Caesar-Su made an early public appearance on a now-deleted episode of Charlie Sloth's Fire in the Streets series in 2014, where he adopted the rapper name "Central Cee" (first listed as Central C). [4] His first song appearance was on the "Ain't On Nuttin Remix" alongside J Hus and more in January 2015. [21] He released his "StreetHeat Freestyle" in February of the same year. [22] In 2015, Central Cee appeared on music platform BL@CKBOX and performed verses to Tupac instrumentals alongside MoWest. [23] In February 2016, Central Cee was featured alongside Dave and others on the remix to the song "Spirit Bomb" by AJ Tracey. [24] He later released the single "Pull Up" in August 2016. [25] Central Cee released his first projects, the EP 17, and the now-deleted EPs Nostalgia and CS Vol. 1 in 2017. [26] [27] [28] His "Next Up?" freestyle was released in October 2019, following a number of singles that released that year. [29] [23]

2020–2021: Viral success and Wild West

Central Cee performing his “Mad About Bars” freestyle in 2020

Central Cee met his future manager YBeeez in 2019, who encouraged him to pursue music further. [30] After switching from auto-tuned hip hop to a style similar to UK drill, 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. [31] "Loading" and February 2021's "Commitment Issues" both reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. [32] [33] Central Cee self-released his debut mixtape Wild West in March 2021, which debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart and number one on the UK R&B Albums Chart. [5]

2021–2022: 23 and No More Leaks

In September 2021, [34] the single " Obsessed with You" reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart, [5] and would become the lead single to his second mixtape, 23, announced in November 2021. [35] Central Cee's Daily Duppy was released on Christmas of 2021. [36] The second and third singles from the mixtape, "Retail Therapy" and "Cold Shoulder", were released on 6 and 27 January 2022. [34] [37] On 25 February 2022, 23 was released and became his first number one on the UK Albums Chart. [38] [39]

Following previews at concerts and on social media, his single " Doja" released on 21 July 2022 alongside a music video directed by Cole Bennett. [40] It became his highest charting song of his career, debuting at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. [41] The song also reached number 12 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. [42] On 14 October 2022, Central Cee surprise released his EP No More Leaks, which was supported by the single " One Up" which released the day before. [43] On 16 December 2022, he released the single " Let Go", which samples the Passenger single " Let Her Go" and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart. [44] In 2022, Central Cee became the first UK rapper to achieve 1 billion Spotify streams in a single year. [45] On 9 February 2023, he released the single "Me & You". [46]

2023–present: Split Decision

On 1 June 2023, Central Cee and Dave released the joint single " Sprinter". [47] It was the lead single to their collaborative EP Split Decision, which was surprise-released on 4 June. "Sprinter" became Central Cee's first number-one single, and broke the record for the biggest streaming week for a rap song in UK history. [9] [48] The single also broke the record for the longest running number-one rap single in the UK. [49] In late June, Central Cee appeared on XXL magazine's 2023 Freshman Class. [50] Days later, it was announced that he had signed to Columbia Records. [51] On 21 July, Central Cee released his " On the Radar Freestyle" with Drake. [52] The track debuted at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his first song to reach the chart. [53] On 20 October, Central Cee was featured on a song alongside Australian rapper The Kid LAROI and Korean pop star Jungkook called " Too Much". [54]

On 21 December 2023, Central Cee released the single "Entrapaneur". [55] On 11 February 2024, he released the single "I Will". [56] On 5 April 2024, he appeared on J. Cole's surprise mixtape Might Delete Later on the track "H.Y.B" alongside Bas. [57]

Modeling

Central Cee made his modeling debut for Drake's Nike X Nocta collection on 6 April 2021. [58] He fronted Jaquemus' "Neve World" campaign in November 2022. [59] He has also done work for JD Sports, a sport clothing shop in the UK. [60]

Artistry

Beginning his career performing British hip-hop, Central Cee switched to the trapwave genre in 2016, a style of British hip hop which utilizes auto-tuned singing. In 2020, Central Cee moved to a style similar to UK drill with the release of the single "Day in the Life", and has mostly stuck to that style since then, stating that the auto-tune style was oversaturated. [61] His current style of music has been described as a melodic and upbeat approach to UK drill. [62] Central Cee studied rappers such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Jay-Z as a young adult and named NBA YoungBoy as one of his influences. [13]

Discography

Main article: Central Cee discography

Mixtapes

Tours

Headlining

  • Still Loading World Tour (2022)

Awards and nominations

Organization Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
AIM Independent Music Awards 2021 PPL Award for Most Played New Independent Artist Himself Nominated [63]
BET Awards 2023 Best International Act Nominated [64]
BET Hip Hop Awards 2023 Best Breakthrough Hip Hop Artist Nominated [65]
Best International Flow Nominated
Brit Awards 2022 Best New Artist Nominated [66]
Best British Hip Hop/Rap/Grime Act Nominated
British Single of the Year " Obsessed with You" Nominated
2023 British Artist of the Year Himself Nominated [67]
Best British Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act Nominated
2024 Song of the Year "Sprinter" (with Dave) Nominated [68]
" Let Go" Nominated
British Artist of the Year Himself Nominated
Best British Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act Nominated
Ivor Novello Awards 2023 Songwriter of the Year Nominated [69]
MOBO Awards 2021 Best Newcomer Won [70]
Best Male Act Nominated
Best Drill Act Won
Song of the Year "Commitment Issues" Nominated
2022 Best Male Act Himself Won [71]
[72]
Best Drill Act Nominated
Song of the Year " Doja" Nominated
Video of the Year Won
2023 Best Male Act Himself Won [73]
Best Drill Act Nominated
Song of the Year "Sprinter" (with Dave) Won
MTV Europe Music Awards 2023 Best Hip-Hop Himself Nominated [74]
Best UK & Ireland Act Nominated
Best Collaboration " Sprinter" (with Dave) Nominated

References

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  2. ^ Akulu, Rahel (15 March 2021). "'I Don't Want To Be Boxed In As A Drill Rapper': An Interview With Central Cee". Complex. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  3. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (10 November 2023). "Friday Music Guide: New Music From Dua Lipa, The Kid LAROI, PinkPantheress and More". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b Scott, Jimi (10 March 2021). "How Central Cee finally achieved greatness". GRM Daily. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Peaks in the UK:
  6. ^ Wynter, Courtney (29 July 2022). "Central Cee's "Doja" Debuts At Number 2 In UK Singles Chart". GRM Daily. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  7. ^ Keith, James. "Central Cee Makes UK Chart History, Shouts Out Giggs,Skepta, Krept and Konan and D-Block Europe For Early Influence". Complex. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  8. ^ Keith, James. "Central Cee Drops Surprise 'No More Leaks' EP, Leads With "One Up" Video". Complex. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
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