By now – we’ve all heard of Central Cee Or ‘Cench’ if you’re for the culture. He’s
reached a level of global flame that means you can literally step onto any habitable
continent and meet someone that has heard of him. A great stride for UK rap.
The west-London native started his ascendancy in 2020 with ‘Loading’ and ‘Day in
The Life’ but no one could’ve predicted the journey his career would take. With
multiple MOBO and BET nominations he started making a splash overseas.
But the question remains – how do you get to such a level of global fame?
Cench’s ascension to the pinnacle of the rap scene has been no fluke or gimmick,
but the result savvy marketing and his continuous alignment with trends in fashion
and music alike.
His rise to fame hasn’t just been confined to the UK. either as he is the first UK rapper to garner 1 billion streams, a milestone that not only highlights his ascension, but his global appeal too.
Despite appearances Central Cee is, by his own admission, an introvert. In an interview with British Vogue, he says:
“If it was up to me, I’d just be living under a rock.”
How has he been able to reach such heights? The first place to look at is
his international collaborations and the many markets he has managed to break in to.
Taking America
One accomplishment that has consistently evaded British rappers is fully breaking
into the American market. And its not to say others haven’t come close because they
have. But the numbers don’t lie, and they point to Cench as being the first to reach a
level of notoriety across the pond.
In 2023, he became the first British male rapper to be inducted into XXL magazine’s
freshman roster, a launchpad for American artists. This inclusion is a significant
marker of his success for a plethora of reasons and highlights how his appeal has
simply begun to transcend geographical boundaries.
But how did he manage to do it? “Alright” I’ll tell you. His distinctive style, vocal clarity and seamless blend of UK drill and trap, resonated with American audiences, providing an alternative to the familiar sounds dominating the US charts.
Strategic collaboration
Central Cee’s collaborations with a number of talented artists worldwide cannot be
ignored and has to be credited with increasing his reach in a global sense.
Such as the collaboration with Brooklyn-based superstar Ice Spice which
just made sense.
‘Did It First’ has a mainstream appeal that can’t be overlooked, but also helped him to utilise the traction he built from ‘BAND4BAND’ alongside Lil Baby which reached genuine virality on social media. He has since teased a collaboration with Chicago’s Lil Durk.
Cench is tapped into the Afrobeats market with his collaboration with
Asake on the track ‘Wave,‘ and into the K-Pop scene with “Too Much” featuring The
Kid Laroi and Jung Kook of BTS, expanding his reach to new and diverse audiences.
Jung Kook in particular is an amazing collaboration due to BTS’ level of fame.
His collaborations can’t take all the credit for his success as behind his artistic
prowess lies his and his team’s sharp business acumen. This has allowed him to keep control of his artistic expression and license. And most importantly he has control of his masters.
His joint venture deal with Columbia Records and Sony Music UK for two projects is
an example of his ability to place his career in the best possible circumstances. That
said, his manager Bello deserves plaudits for brokering a deal that is rumoured to
bring in $25m.
Surrounding himself with characters that are able to see him succeed has allowed
him to capitalise on opportunities that align with his career aspirations and ensure he doesn’t fade away like many before.
What’s next? Well definitely a debut album as Cench has made his mark
with the various mixtapes and singles he has dropped but a strong debut album will
do wonders for his legacy.
He has already released the name of the album ‘Can’t Rush Greatness’ (CRG) and it
is bound to be one of the most anticipated albums of the year. To have
attained this level of fame without an album is just ludicrous but a testament to him.
No matter what level Cench gets himself to, he never forgets to put his city on the map and that could be his secret.
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