HomeNews#REVIEW Central Cee Delivers Highly Anticipated '23' Mixtape
#REVIEW Central Cee Delivers Highly Anticipated '23' Mixtape
Author: Tom Dingley | Friday 25th February 2022
West London based rapper Central Cee continues to apply pressure as he drops off the brand new 15-track mixtape he's been teasing since late last year, '23' is here!
After having an absolutely unbelievable year in 2021, rapper Central Cee kicks off 2022 picking up exactly where he left off. This 15-track project is just what people will want to hear from Central Cee, especially with it being his first project since 'Wild West'. Showcasing everything that we already love about the West London rapper, as well as displaying a more vulnerable side to himself on some tracks as he really delves into his pain and some of his experiences that we don't always hear him talk about, this project shows the talent Central Cee has to offer as well as letting the listener getting to know a bit more about himself as a person.
The project opens with 'Khabib' which was released a couple of weeks prior to the project dropping, along with a cold music video to match. The track has almost a 'Rocky' kind of feel to it with the build up of the beat and the content within the song. Along with that, the music video itself shows Central Cee in a stunning scenic location, similar to something you may see in a movie when an athlete is training away from any sort of distractions - possibly signifying the zone he was in when he was writing and recording this project?
Central Cee does a brilliant job of giving us more of an insight into his life, struggles, feelings and more on this project, but no song displays this side to the listeners more than 'Cold Shoulder'. On this track we hear Central Cee talk about some bad news that he received on a phone call one time, ex love interests that have turned out to be bad experiences in the end, no longer letting things slide and much more. Whilst we have a number of songs from Central Cee that we can turn up to and will liven up any party or festival crowd, songs like this make the listener really feel connected to the artist on a deeper level and being able to do that well is what sets apart the good artists from the great ones.
Not only do we hear Central Cee talk about his own struggles and experiences, but on 'Ungrateful' he also pays homage to those who have paved the way for young artists like himself who would not be able to do what they do had it not been for other artists coming through and breaking barriers in the way that they did beforehand. He mentions this along with some of the names he wants to thank such as Ghetts, Giggs, Chip, Skepta and a whole host more names. This shows that not only is he thankful to these artists, but he knows how much they have put in and that he wants to follow in their footsteps to reach their heights and also to pave the way for the next generation himself.
There are not many features on this project but the first track we hear any features on comes on 'Eurovision' where Central Cee has gathered some of the hardest European talents onto one track. We see features from Rondadasosa (Italy), Freeze Corleone (France), Baby Gang (Italy), A2 Anti, Morad (Spain), Beny Jr (Spain) ASHE 22 (France) on this track so the title being 'Eurovision' works perfectly. This was a nice toucvh from Central Cee as drill rappers from other countries are becoming increasingly popular and they have got so much talent to offer and this track showcases exactly that and is definitely one that would go off at a live performance.
The project as a whole gives us exactly what we would want and expect from a Central Cee project, and the visuals that have already been released are of course on point - something that we all know Central Cee has always been good at was putting out a good music video. Whilst some of the songs are a bit on the short side and not quite hitting the 2 minute mark ('Obsessed With You' as an example) one thing that can be said for this is that the repeat value of these shorter songs is definitely going to be at a maximum.That being said, there are a good number of tunes over the 3 minute mark and again, the repeat value is high and the quality of the songs is also high.
All in all this project showcases just how talented this young rapper really is and is only a sign of things to come as one thing is for certain, this well and truly is only the beginning for this young talent who in the space of the last year has become one of the biggest household names and his reach and success is due to only grow beyond the levels already set.
The project is available to buy or stream right now on Apple Music and Spotify right now so go and support the project and the artist, this is a cold, cold project. Also let us know on Twitter what your favourite track from the project is!
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