Central Cee is going to be the biggest rapper in the world for 3 very simple reasons.
- He’s in the fastest growing genre of music
- His music is good + he figured out the cheat code
- He (and his manager) understands marketing and the business of music
UK Rap is Going to be the Biggest Genre of Music
Rap Music is the most popular genre of music (TikTok , Spotify).
Although US rap has better marketing. I think UK Rappers are the most talented English-speaking rappers. As the world becomes more connected and things like TikTok democratize music distribution. The best music will be the most popular music regardless of marketing budgets.
So whoever is the biggest rapper in the UK will be the biggest rapper in the world.
His Music is Good
No matter how good your marketing is. The music has to be good.
Central Cee is the most talented rapper in the UK. Music is subjective so let me break down what he does well.
His lyrics have meaning.
He enunciates his words clearly.
He figured out the cheat code of “street” but not “too street”.
My theory is that most people don’t actually like the violence, drug use, materialism, over-sexualization prevalent in rap music. People kind of just tolerate it because that is the catchiest type of music.
The problem is that most of the “wholesome” music is boring.
The cheat code is to make more positive type music (that isn’t too corny) and throw it on a catchy BPM beat.
See: Drake and Pre-2009 Kanye are 2 other good examples of this
Central Cee is a smart businessman. I think he’s adopting the “street” persona because it’s popular right now. Based on his older videos I think he’s more of an R&B/ “afro swing” kind of guy.
Just like how I think Drake and Kanye are R&B artists at heart. They became rappers because that’s where the money and status is.
Unlike other rappers who fall for the facade of “being gangster,” I think that Central Cee recognizes the game being played and will adapt as consumer preferences change.
His Instagram bio says “not real life” which I interpret as him acknowledging: “my Instagram page is marketing for the persona of people’s idealization of a rap star, it’s not real life”
He Understands Marketing
The thing that really impressed me the most about Central Cee is that he is a marketing Genius! I have to give his manager y2bees a lot of credit for this as well.
Another similarity between Drake and Kanye 2 other rappers that understood the business and marketing angle the best.
His Wild West rollout might be the best mixtape rollout I have ever seen. Watch this video by Ride Music, HOW DID CENTRAL CEE TURN HIS CAREER AROUND? To learn more.
- Using a bold consistent colour like Orange and consistent font
- Partnering with a streetwear brand like Trapstar
A lot of people in the comments said that they used to remember seeing him promoting his work on social media back in the day. As an entrepreneur, I rate that kind of grassroots hustle.
He understands the business side of music. Watching his music videos like Molly at 1:07 you see him with a copy of Music: The Business a book about the music industry.
Your favourite rapper is flexing their Lamborghini (which they’re leasing btw). Central Cee is flexing the books he’s reading. They’re playing different games. Few understand.
He also understands the importance of expanding to new markets. One of the first UK rappers that’s put a lot of effort into going International. He’s partnered with Italian rappers like Rondo and French rappers like Freeze Corleone.
Every successful artist knows the importance of diversification.
Other notable examples:
Meg the Stallion + KPop (BTS)
Pop Smoke (RIP) + UK Rap.
Drake + Afrobeats (WizKid)
Drake + Dancehall (Popcaan)
Drake + Uk Rap (Dav)
Or even further back: Kanye and Estelle partnering on American Boy (one of my favourite rap songs ever!).
I think he also has a very interesting racially ambiguous look that allows people of different ethnicities to feel like he relates to them and helps him relate to different groups of people.
I call it the “Drake effect”.
I predict that as he becomes more popular people, people will start trying to guess his ethnicity and recycling the same debates about race and gatekeeping.
My two cents? Just Let Cench be Cench. The biggest rapper in the world.
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Del (Chinua Ofulue) is an RnB and alternative soul singer, rapper and writer. He recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Western University.
As an entrepreneur and content creator, I’m in the business of studying what people want and giving it to them. When something becomes popular I try to reverse engineer it, find out why people like it and apply the learnings to my business ...