Oakley Neil Caesar-Su (born 4 June 1998), known professionally as Central Cee, is a British rapper and songwriter from Shepherd’s Bush, London. He rose to prominence in 2020 with the release of the singles “Day in the Life” and “Loading”. His first mixtape Wild West was released on 12 March 2021, which debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. 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. He released his first major-label EP No More Leaks in October 2022. 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. The single also became the longest-running number-one rap song in the UK, holding the position for 10 weeks.
Early life
Oakley Neil Caesar-Su was born on 4 June 1998 in Ladbroke Grove, London to an English mother and a Guyanese father with Chinese ancestry. His mother Rachel Caesar met his father at age 15 and began dating him against her parents’ wishes, subsequently getting cut off financially. When Caesar-Su 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. One of his brothers is Juke Caesar, who appeared on the 23 mixtape under the name “Lil Bro”. As a child, Caesar-Su would write poetry and raps, which he would then show to his mother and social worker.
When Caesar-Su visited his father, he would be shown American hip-hop. He would also be exposed to reggae and dancehall when he attended Notting Hill Carnival. 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. Caesar-Su left school at age 16.
At age 14, he was kicked out of his mother’s home and temporarily moved in with his girlfriend’s family. Caesar-Su began recording music around this time after being inspired by a friend who took him to a recording studio. He worked at a shoe store for three weeks before finding out his wage and quitting. 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.
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). His first song appearance was on the “Ain’t On Nuttin Remix” alongside J Hus and more in January 2015. He released his “StreetHeat Freestyle” in February of the same year. In 2015, Central Cee appeared on music platform BL@CKBOX and performed verses to Tupac instrumentals alongside MoWest. In February 2016, Central Cee was featured alongside Dave and others on the remix to the song “Spirit Bomb” by AJ Tracey. He later released the single “Pull Up” in August 2016. Central Cee released his first projects, the EP 17, and the now-deleted EPs Nostalgia and CS Vol. 1 in 2017. His “Next Up?” freestyle was released in October 2019, following a number of singles that released that year.
2020–2023: Wild West, 23, and Split Decision
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. 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. “Loading” and February 2021’s “Commitment Issues” both reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. 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.
CENTRAL CEE URL LINKS:
Website: https://www.centralcee.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centralcee
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CentralCee
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@centralcee
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centralcee
X: https://www.x.com/centralcee