Central Cee freestyled a new song called ’24 hours’ while on livestream moments after the release of his debut album, ‘Can’t Rush Greatness’.
To celebrate the release of his long-awaited debut on Friday, the rapper went on PlaqueBoyMax’s live stream for an ‘In The Booth’ studio session.
Before recording, Max unveiled an iconic red British telephone box as Cee’s “custom booth”. Then, over a dreamy, emotive drill instrumental, the Shepherd’s Bush rapper reflected on his past life “trapping” and selling drugs: “Can make 10 thou’ off a random town, in a crackhead’s house / But I’m not too proud, but everything happened for a reason.”
He also expressed his desire for peace and move beyond past conflicts, controversially saying: “I’ll keep it real, fuck drill / I can’t wait ’til the beef dies out and they don’t come ’round / For now, we’re still gonna stand our ground.”
Other moments of the stream included Cench getting a tattoo of the Boy Better Know logo in homage to grime legend Skepta, and rap journalist DJ Akademiks recorded a brief message for the intro of 24 Hours: “That boy got bars my n**** and that’s a fact n****.”
‘Can’t Rush Greatness’ is out now via Cench’s label CC4L and Columbia Records, which features verses from Skepta, Lil Durk, Young Miko, Dave, Kamal and 21 Savage. He announced the record last October and launched his own CRG radio show on Apple Music 1 to promote it, interviewing UK rap icons like Headie One and Blade Brown.
In a glowing four-star review, NME wrote: “Yes, some duds should have been left off the album, but it’s still worth the wait. Central Cee could easily remain hidden behind his signature mystique, but instead tells the story of a boy turned man all while on the world’s stage. No smoke and mirrors, the album is authentically Cench every step of the way.”
Last week, Central Cee shared the music video for the album deep cut, ‘Limitless’ – which was shot in black-and-white and shows clips of him with his confidants running around the countryside. This follows him recently sharing the Cole Bennett-directed video for ‘GBP’ with 21 Savage.
Last week also saw Cee nominated for three BRIT awards: Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and best Hip-hop/Grime/Rap Act. Check out the full list of nominees for the BRIT Awards 2025 here.
This Friday (January 30) will see Cench take over London’s KOKO for a one-off gig in his hometown. You can find any available tickets here.