Ladbroke Grove, London, England, United Kingdom rapper & singer/songwriter Central C putting out his sophomore effort & major label debut as the we approach the end of the first month in the new year. After putting out a total of 4 EPs & a couple mixtapes in addition to his Split Decision collab EP he & Dave did, the 2023 XXL Freshman Class member has seen fit to sign with Columbia Records for him to make his proper introduction reminding that you Can’t Rush Greatness.
“No Introduction” is this UK drill intro talking about women tryna pretend as if they don’t know who he is already whereas “5 Star” reflects upon his come-up in the rap game. “Gata” featuring Young Miko apologizes for not answering sooner due to spending life & time while the money-hungry “St. Patrick’s” samples “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” by the almighty Wu-Tang Clan talking about being in the trap house getting his funds up & beef going hand-to-hand in hip hop.
21 Savage joins C on the 3rd single “GBP” highlighting the contrasts between the 2 artists’ roots & dealing with the struggles of street life while “Top” premeditates a graceful exit in the midst of trying to maintain. “Up North” maintains a UK drill flare talking about the life we live being as hostile as it already is, but then “CRG” featuring Dave finds the pair encouraging everyone to slow down with the greatness because it has to take time looking back on going from financial hardships to riches.
“Limitless” produced by Einer Bankz balances ambition & emotional burdens by tackling the internal conflict between wanting to escape his past & the sacrifices required to achieve financial success just before “Now We’re Strangers” tells an ex of his that he hopes she finds her way back home. “Truth in the Lies” featuring Lil Durk flips “So Sick” by Ne-Yo admitting to feeling suicidal without their partners’ love while “10” featuring Skepta boasts that they’re in UK top 3 every year.
Lil Baby accompanies C for “BAND4BAND” dropping braggadocio together while “Gen Z Luv” serves as an open letter to Madeline Argy. The song “Walk in Wardrobe” is a 2-parter promising to do it all again if he goes broke while “Must Be” talks about what his definition of “real” is. “Don’t Know Anymore” closes C’s debut doing more than 10,000 hours for him to get into the position that he’s at currently.
On those earlier mixtapes, he was living in the same house he grew up in & there were times it was hard to say man’s a musician since he was just a guy that went into the studio sometimes. Now that he’s elevated, he sets out further cement himself as an actual musician following a string of high profile guest appearances from The Kid Laroi to J. Cole & Ice Spice. The production is mostly based in UK drill with some occasional sampling of R&B & even Brazilian funk music.
Score: 3.5/5
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