UK Rap On The Rise | Central Cee

The hottest sh*t out right now.

2 min readJul 23, 2023

I’ve been a fan of UK rap for a long time, ever since ASAP Rocky collaborated with Skepta and Slowthai.

As an American, I know it was missing from the top of the list regarding who you will play on the AUX.

I would even opt out of playing it sometimes because I knew my friends did not care for it.

Things are changing.

I am going to talk about one artist who is taking the UK rap scene by storm.

I have lately been listening only to him.

He is among the most talented rappers and is getting a well-deserved shine worldwide, including in the US.

He is the first UK Rapper to hit 1 billion Spotify streams in a single year in 2022; this is only the start.

It has been a long time coming, not only for him but for people from the US, to notice that UK rap is no joke.

They are lyrical geniuses. Honestly, I have heard some of the best wordplay, not only from Central Cee but so many others.

Especially after listening to his freestyle on ‘LA Leakers Freestyle.’

One of the smartest well, thought freestyles I have heard trying to connect America to the United Kingdom.

But, one song really put him on the map in the States.

‘Doja’

It has made its mark for many reasons.

Catchy, controversial, and fresh.

The song gained so much traction with the wave of TikTok when the song came out.

Since then, many people from the States have gotten to know Central Cee and his music.

But I am not here to talk about ‘Doja.’

Santan Dave and Central Cee just dropped ‘Split Decision,’ one of the best EPs that has come out this year.

Every single song is a hit.

If you haven’t listened, this is your calling to go and give it one; it will not disappoint.

Their song ‘Sprinter’ is Spotify’s UK’s most streamed song in a single day in 2023 so far.

In under 5 days, it had 20 million streams.

The song is doing numbers.

He is getting “co-signed” by one of the most excellent musicians that the rap scene has ever seen, Drake.

But it’s not only Drake that has noticed him; fromBig Sean, Pharrell, Travis Scott, and so many more.

As I write this, a freestyle just dropped on ‘The Drake & Central Cee “On the Radar” Freestyle.’

This signals that there is about to be something big between the two.

More and more people will start to recognize how talented this guy is from West London and really appreciate his work.