British rap superstar Central Cee is back with episode three of ‘CRG Radio’ on Apple Music 1. Fresh off the release of his debut album, ‘Can’t Rush Greatness’ which launched to widespread acclaim on Friday, episode three takes listeners on an exclusive journey through the project, with the West London artist sharing behind-the-scenes stories and revealing the inspiration behind each track.
Inspired by his debut album, ‘CRG Radio’ is a four-part series that offers a raw, behind-the-scenes look at the music, influences and experiences that have fuelled his meteoric rise. In episode three, Cench invites listeners on a personal journey, sharing where his mindset was during the creation of each track, how each collaboration came together, the competitive edge collaborating brings out in him, what working with UK grime icon Skepta meant to him, and the key messages he hopes listeners take away from the project.
A lifelong Chelsea supporter, Cench adds a special touch to the episode with a FaceTime conversation with England and Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer. During their chat, he learns about Cole’s favourite music, and plays him ‘Up North’ and ‘Must Be’ off the project. Cench also shared a snippet on social media this week of his first-ever conversation with Jamaican dancehall legend Vybz Kartel, with the two expressing their enthusiasm on collaborating in the near future. The full chat will feature in next week’s episode.
The four-part series launched last month, where Cench was joined by the founders of fashion and lifestyle brand Trapstar where they discussed their shared West London roots. Episode two saw Cench reflect on his journey so far, with his official DJ Andy Purnell mixing through his entire catalogue.
Central Cee released his 17-track album on Friday, featuring previously released singles ‘BAND4BAND’ with Lil Baby, ‘Gen Z Luv’, ‘GBP’ featuring 21 Savage and the Lil Durk assisted ‘Truth In The Lies’. It also features collaborations with Young Miko, Dave, Lil Durk, Skepta and Dave. Last night he announced a 38-date World Tour, including dates in the UK (London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow) as well as North America and Australia.
Central Cee on his method for selecting beats and turning down a feature with Drake on his hit ‘Sticky’…
I'll just flick through beats. I can tell three seconds in or maybe even just one second in. It's the key. Or something to me, I don't really know. I've got some friends that are proper, they're more musical than me. They'll be like, what's that song when the trumpets are going like this? And I'll be like, what trumpet? I don't even know an instrument. I don't know how to differentiate instruments. I just know that I like the sound of a beat. I can just tell straight away if I like it. It's like the music actually gets an emotion out of man. I don't choose it to, I can't rap on any beat. I've not been able to jump on songs with certain people with some sick features. Before I even got to work with Drake on ‘On The Radar’, he had sent me ‘Sticky’ that was on his album and I just couldn't rap to it. Some beats I can't really rap to innit. I guess it is not up to me. The music moves me or it doesn't. I don't know what instruments are. I don’t know what BPM is. I just know that I can rap on it or I can’t.
Central Cee on how his friendship with 21 Savage formed, collaborating on ‘GBP’ and wanting to follow up on the success of ‘Band4Band’…
I met 21 Savage on the Drake tour and then we kind of linked proper when he came to London and done The O2 show. So we've known each other, he’s a contact in my phone, but I don't really just make music for the sake of making music. I had that song already written with the theme and it made sense for 21 to jump on it. To be fair though, 21, yeah, he reminds me of me in the way that he collaborates, that he proper listens to the tune. He don't just rap some any bars on a tune, like bare man will do that. I reckon some rappers probably even just put old lyrics on a tune just to get it done quick or something, but he'll really go off the back of the theme of the song. So even without me having to say, look, you say “the price go up if it's USD” and then kind of just play on the the comparisons between UK and the US init, he done a great job still. I can't lie I needed that going into the album. I can't lie, I was a little bit nervous thinking that ‘Band4Band’ was the last song with motion that was on the album. It was a year ago now, so I definitely needed that song there, ‘GBP’, just to pick up the momentum again. So I'm happy about that.
Central Cee on collaborating with Dave on ‘CRG’...
Me and Dave had already made a whole tape by the time we came back to the studio to make this so there was no ice to break kind of thing. We already had rocked with each other proper. We made maybe five or six songs only to make that tape. So only two songs didn't make ‘Split Decision’. I think this one's a good follow up from ‘Sprinter’ because it's in its own lane. There is pressure when you have such a big song like that. So I feel like the context of this one where it's a little bit more deeper, less jumpy, I just feel like it's a whole different vibe and it just lets it just have its own lane, serve its own purpose.
Central Cee on being blessed to work with Skepta on ‘10’ and the feeling of failure before blowing as an artist…
Another great feature on the album I'm blessed to have. It's weird now because I'm desensitised to it. I've been making music for so long or I felt like I was failing for so long. There was nothing really going on, that by the time I ended up making it, I didn't even care like that. I remember early days the way I'd just proper aspire to be these people or look up to these people in a fascinated way. Look at these award shows and wish, it's weird. I just grew up over time. I've been making music from such a young age. By the time I did blow I was 22 years old, I was a big man in my head. I already thought I was going to just live a next life. The dream died essentially. So by the time I made it, it's like everything's a bit, it's whatever it is init. I don't really appreciate it as much as I probably should, but sometimes I try to be more grateful and appreciate the fact that yeah, these are people that really paved the way for man, especially if not the whole scene. So big up Skepta.
Central Cee on how collaborations bring a competitive energy out of him…
It's definitely not a conscious thing, but maybe subconsciously there's competitiveness in going to the studio with another artist. I've seen a comment and I've even listened to my own features that I've done verses for other people and I'm like, yeah dude. I think maybe a comment maybe put it into my head where it's like the Central Cee verses are always better on his features or something. I think I remember someone saying that? I remember listening back to him thinking, yeah, they might be right. It definitely brings a different energy out of me when rapping alongside somebody who also raps. So I'm probably a bit more relaxed and a bit more content when I'm just making a song by myself, whereas if I'm with somebody else, I’ve kind of got to think about it.
Central Cee On why he avoids using particular UK slang words on his music...
The album was almost nearly finished and I remember writing it for fun. You see, what I kind of tend to do is I write with a proper objective. Some musicians, I've heard them say this is blasphemous to artistry, don't make a song for the radio, don't do this. Don't just do what you love. I don't do that. I do make songs for the radio and the radio play them. I make the songs for girls and then the girls play them, whatever it may be. A lot of the time, in fact, I'll write songs and I'll even stop myself from saying certain words that sound too British … I'll never end a sentence with butter or gutter or something like that. Because all these people in these other territories, they can't even hear what I'm saying. So proper thought goes into the music with the words I'm saying. If I say a slang word that only people in my ends are going to understand, I'll try refrain from saying it so that the masses can take the tuning.
Central Cee on the mindset he needs to be in order to write his songs…
It's a personal one writing to me, it's just all about feeling, isn't it? Whatever emotion the beat gets out of me, that's what steers the song, but it's all based on emotion and how I'm feeling. See, when I start to chill, when I'm at home, I go on holiday or whatever it is, I tune out and I'll be really still, there's nothing that can really piss me off. There's nothing that can even raise my dopamine mad. I'm just mad stagnant, which is how I like to live, but it's not productive for the music. I can't write, so I slightly need turmoil or I dunno, what makes me happy. I dunno if there's much happiness in my music. Most of my music is probably pain driven, even if the beat is kind of upbeat, like people dancing to the tune. If you really break down what I'm saying, it's sad, isn't it? And I think that's probably the majority of what I'm saying, even if it sounds like I'm almost glamorising a lifestyle, if you really think about it, is a sad lifestyle, isn't it? So regardless, I need emotion and the emotion that I do feel more time is probably a conflicting one.
Central Cee on making ‘Truth In The Lies’ on tour with Drake and collaborating with Lil Durk…
I was kind of fucking around on that beat. We were in Charlotte on the Drake tour at the time and I had just started working with Harley [Arsenault] who ended up engineering the whole album, but I met him on the Drake tour. He was doing some sound engineering on the tour and someone introduced me to him. I don't actually record much, I wasn't really even thinking about the album at that time. I thought I'm on tour, I'm not going to end up recording, but cool, take his number. I ended up recording throughout that whole time. After every show we just go back to the hotel, he set up the studio and we'd record and it was in Charlotte and that was one of Harley's beats.
But I heard it and obviously there's a lot of stigma around the sampling culture of the new age where it is kind of shown up on. I've rinsed it a little bit. I've definitely done a few samples where it seems like it is a bit of a cheap hit. I guess you sample a hit record and it's already half a hit without you even saying anything. So I was kind of just fucking around on the song. I think maybe that's why I even approached the song that way in a singing way. I think even the way I recorded it, I didn't write it. Probably one of the only songs on the album that I didn't write. I just did this mad punching in method where you just say one line and you think of another line or whatever. But then when I ended up listening back to it, it ended up being the theme song for our tour and yeah, it was only right. I put it on my Instagram actually before I had Durk on there. The fans ate it up and in order to drop it now I felt like I had to do something new. So I put Durk on there and I was lucky enough to shoot the video.
That was probably the most fun to write that song. See me, I don't really create a vibe in the studio. I'm there to just get the job done and leave. There's no smoke drink girls, none of that typical rapper stuff. So usually it's very boring in my studio sessions, but I happened to be with Rimz who kind of brought a different energy out I guess because that song, it wasn't supposed to be serious. I wasn't taking it serious. But it's a very serious song and it's funny, because the substance of that song is actually still deep, like man's talking about some mad thing. So it's funny that we will find it funny, but if I don’t laugh I'll cry.
Central Cee on making ‘Walk In Wardrobe’ three years ago and why it lasted the test of time to make the album…
This next song is the oldest song on the album, I actually made this song three years ago. It's nostalgic to me holding onto a song for that long and it coming out is rare for me. I don't make much music. I try not to overdo it. So there's not many songs that I have unreleased, but this one I think I remember making this song and thinking this is too good to drop right now. This is like an album song amongst me and the Mandem. This is one of them ones, it's nostalgic to me, but it's fresh to you lot.
Central Cee on inspiring people through ‘Can’t Rush Greatness’ and the importance of trusting the process...
It's tough. Trying to think what would I want everybody to take away from this album because there’s so many different ages and walks of life and countries that are listening to my music. Some people fully might not even understand what I'm saying in certain songs or whatever, but what I'm happy with is the title of the album, ‘Can't Rush Greatness’, even prior to the album dropping. The amount of people that are following that movement or even using that phrase in part of their vocabulary. It's already enough, init? Just being able to inspire people but not in a way that's unrealistic in a way that I'm fully telling them where I've come from…Whether you are even from where I'm from, wherever you're from around the world, hopefully you can know that anything for real is possible because this ain't luck. Man really worked hard for this and greatness can't be rushed. And to trust the process, enjoy the journey, embrace the pain and keep going. If you're going through hell, keep going.
Central Cee asks Cole Palmer what music he likes…
I like all types of music, just no Country.
