“I’m not feeling this song”: The hit song Central Cee hated
Central Cee is one of the biggest rappers to come out of the UK and has had a lot of success recently. His debut album, Can’t Rush Greatness, topped the UK albums chart and even broke into the top ten of the Billboard 200, making it one of the first projects by a British emcee to chart above 20.
Still, despite his great success with songs like ‘Band4Band’ featuring Lil Baby and ‘Doja’, he has had other songs that have resonated with his home crowd in the UK. One of those tracks featured Streatham lyricist Dave.
The 2023 track entitled ‘Sprinter’ was a hit. It topped the UK singles chart and became a four-times platinum single. Still, Central Cee didn’t like it when he was making it alongside Dave and felt he shouldn’t release it.
During an appearance on GQ, the West London rapper looked back on some of his biggest hits, and while listening back to the chart-topping anthem, he laughed to himself and told the cameraman, “It’s mad because I thought this song wasn’t gonna do anything! Me and Dave made a mixtape together, and there’s a video of me in the studio actually saying, ‘Bro, I’m not feeling the song.’”
He continued, “Me and Dave were going back and forth and trying to come to a conclusion if we should shoot [a video for] this or ‘UK Rap’, which is on the mixtape as well, so thank god we went with this one really!”
Central Cee highlighted how, compared to his other songs, it is a little more skilful, stating, “It’s a bit more lyrical, it’s a bit more technical I just thought people wouldn’t take it in as much so went it [blew up] on TikTok it definitely surprised me!”
Since the release of ‘Sprinter,’ Central Cee’s profile has become even more significant, and he released his debut album this year. However, despite his star status, fans couldn’t help but notice that the West London rapper had not included any of his former collaborations with Drake on the project.
Although the 17-track body of work sees huge features from the likes of Skepta, Lil Durk, Dave, Lil Baby, and 21 Savage, his former Canadian collaborator is noticeably absent, and many have questioned why. Furthermore, many have assumed that Drake’s loss to Kendrick Lamar may have played a part in why the Shepherd’s Bush native may have shelved the tracks he had with the Scorpion creator.
During an interview with FunX radio, Central Cee insisted it was because he didn’t want to be predictable. However, having hitched his wagon to Drake for the last five years, Central Cee’s reputation has been tarnished by his mere association with Drake.