All it took was almost ten years of releases and streams in the billions before Central Cee finally dropped an album. To put that in perspective: that’s six British Prime Ministers, two British monarchs and one pandemic. It’s a good thing he named the project Can’t Rush Greatness and not “Sprinter”.

Jokes aside, Central Cee is truly one of a kind. In the four years since he blew up with 2020 singles “Loading” and “Day In the Life”, the rapper has not only cemented himself as one of the UK’s biggest names, but also the biggest success story to come out of the country’s homegrown drill scene, being almost singlehandedly responsible for the genre’s now global notoriety. With the album artwork casting the West London rapper in a Union Jack beanie and rocking Queen Elizabeth’s likeness on a gold chain, Cench is clearly aware of his UK legend status. 

The ‘debut’ tagline does, however, arrive with a slight caveat – Central Cee has previously released two full-length mixtapes, 2021’s Wild West and 2022’s 23. “With the mixtapes, I was living in [the same] house I grew up in. There were times it was hard to say man’s a musician. I was just a guy that [went into the] studio [sometimes],” the rapper told Aniefiok Ekpoudom for Dazed’s Autumn 2024 issue. “Now, I’m an artist.” 

Anyway, with a keen eye for catchy one-liners that cater to both his underground and mainstream audiences, it was the singles following these releases that really elevated Cench’s name. Below, in honour of the release of Can’t Rush Greatness tomorrow (January 24), we rank our five favourite singles from the West London rapper.

5. “LOADING” 

It seems wild to imagine a time when Central Cee wasn’t the UK rap ambassador, but “Loading” was the track that put him on the regional map to begin with. In a time where drill was mainly associated with the dark and menacing sonics of Digga D and Headie One, “Loading’s” aloof jazz sample hinted at a more mainstream-friendly future for the genre. Meanwhile, having previously rapped on melodic hip-hop and grime beats, the track also arrived as a solidification of Cench’s new image – one in which his distinctively hoarse and syncopated delivery takes centre stage, and in which his Commes des Garçons-balaclava combo hints at the lovable roadman persona he would soon embody.

4. “LET GO”

I have an almost irrational love for this song. This might be partly owed to nostalgia for Passenger’s laughably overplayed original, but most of the credit is due to Cench pushing honesty to the point of discomfort in his lyrics here. Beneath the derogatory language is a tragic love story – one that was born amid distrust and sex weaponised as a form of self-defence, and in which rejection arrives as a direct crisis in masculinity. In spite of being almost comically crude, lines like “When I fucked that opp thot, I didn’t take my socks off” emerge as a surprisingly robust case study in how trauma begets trauma in loveless environments. As a whole, it speaks to Cee’s ability to juxtapose drill’s signature bravado with more intimate subject matter, and is certainly the kind of song that no one else could have written.

3. “LA LEAKERS FREESTYLE” 

Look, it’s on Spotify so it counts, alright? Dropping right off the back of international mega-hit “Doja”, Cench’s “LA Leakers Freestyle” was a genius capitalisation on the US airplay the track was receiving at the time. It both helped contextualise his music for overseas audiences, while also cementing the West London rapper as a cultural emissary for the UK scene as a whole. It’s rare to see a British artist cross over the Atlantic, and even rarer to see them do so without compromising whatsoever.

2. “SPRINTER”

Announcing an extended collaboration with UK legend Dave which saw the duo hit up iconic London locations like BeauBeaus cafe and Balamii’s Victory Lap radio, there’s a good case for “Sprinter” to be considered the unofficial national anthem at this point. All the hallmarks of a Central Cee banger are here: pop-adjacent drill production, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and, of course, his signature “alrite” adlib. The only issue here is that Mercedes advertise a 15-person capacity for their Sprinter van. Where are the six other gyal?

1. “DOJA” 

Yes, the chorus is stupid, but it’s geniously stupid. Striking a careful balance between ignorant and ironic, “Doja” arrived as a subtle nod and wink to all the new fans Cench was welcoming into his pop-drill domain and showed that the rapper wasn’t afraid to play with his image a little bit. This was no doubt helped by the iconic Dr. Dre-produced “Let Me Blow Your Mind” sample, as well as the countless ‘I’m gay’ remixes that seemed to pop up almost instantaneously, but, in hindsight, all of this was part of a wildly successful pivot to a superstar persona that transcended genre altogether.