Ever since he first stepped into the booth has kept his eyes on the prize. The West London rapper has become a phenomenon, and taking the sounds of his home city to the globe.
This week saw Central Cee take part in another spectacular project. New single ‘The Team’ is out now, and it finds the rapper play the role of star striker in a special Coca-Cola link-up to mark the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Made for Coca-Cola’s new Taste Every Second campaign, the track finds Cench switching it up once more – spraying over a club-focussed electronic palette constructed by go-to producer , ‘The Team’ embodies the rollercoaster ride of being a football fan, while framing the sense of belonging football can bring.
He said on its release: “I got love for football but slyly, it don’t love me back. You’ve seen me kick a ball, I ain’t making the starting 11. Regardless, it’s an honour doing this tune for Coca-Cola.”
“The crowd energy when I perform live, I feel like that’s the closest feeling to what it must be like walking out on the pitch. That energy is what ‘The Team’ is about. Football’s a religion for some people and this song captures that – the sample says ‘ride or die’, the lyrics say unconditional love. I blended football-related bars with my usual & switched up the beat. You ain’t heard me on something like this before, but it’s the right energy for the record. Hope it connects.”
took part in a glitzy launch for the campaign this week and – lucky us – CLASH got given time to ask a few questions to the man himself.
What was the inspiration behind ‘The Team’?
It wasn’t about making a football song. It was about capturing the feeling around football and what it means to the fans.
Sound wise I moved away from the kinda rap/drill beats you’d hear me on usually. I wanted more energy, something closer to what the UK resonates with right now, a sound that carries that football energy too. I made it with p-rallel, he’s a producer that’s more in the garage, house, and dance music scene.
How do you maintain a creative mood in the studio? Do you need to be focussed, or relaxed?
Focused. I don’t like forcing it. Some days I’m in there for hours and nothing happens, other days something comes together in ten minutes. I’d rather wait until it feels right than make something because I’m supposed to be recording.
The process has gone in a circle as well. Early days I spent a lot of time in the room with producers, then I went through a long stretch of using beat packs, and now I’m back in with producers again. I think it’s better for me creatively that way.
What do you think draws your ear to a specific production style? Is it mood, rhythm, melody, or something else?
It’s instinctive. I know pretty quickly if I can hear myself on something.
I couldn’t pick out what it is though. I don’t hear drums and melody separately, I hear the whole thing as one.
How important was your team during your come-up? How do you manage to place the right people around you?
Very important and they always will be.
I’ve been lucky for the most part. Even before my career took off, I prided myself on having the right people around me, so that probably just carried over. It was just me and my manager for a long time. Building a team was difficult, but slowly we let more people in.
The team’s still incredibly small but it’s effective. You don’t need loads of people around you, you need the right ones. It comes down to trust, understanding, passion for what you do and a shared mission. I’m grateful for my team.
The campaign film for Taste Every Second echoes the passion and intensity of the Premier League season – what was your favourite season as a Chelsea fan?
I can’t really pick one, and I’d rather be honest than sit here saying I’ve been an avid fan my whole life.
Growing up I didn’t watch much TV or do many regular things. I was always trying to chase a dream, or just stay afloat and make some money. Life was turbulent at times and I talk about that in my music. I guess friends and family were big on football so I always had the knowledge and the oversight, but I wasn’t sitting there every weekend watching matches with them.
When I started seeing success with music it gave me the space to actually pay attention to more things including football. So I guess my favourite seasons are yet to come.
Footballers are famed for their competitive streak – do you feel you have that? How do you take the energy of sport into the studio?
It must be subconscious because I don’t really feel like I do, but I must.
It’s me versus me more than anything, I don’t have a person in mind that I’m competing with. If anything I’m zoomed out and competing with the current climate, the game as a whole. I know what numbers people are doing and I go off that.
Football’s probably similar. Whatever you did last season doesn’t really count once the new one starts. You’ve got to prove yourself again.
Are you a Coca-Cola drinker? When is the best time to have a Coke?
Funny enough I don’t really drink fizzy drinks much, and I know the fans will point that out in the comments because I’ve said it before. But when I do have one it’s Coca-Cola. It’s the go to. It’s everywhere and tastes great.
What does the rest of 2026 hold for you?
I’m taking it easier this year and that’s intentional. It’s the least intensive year I’ve had since I broke through.
I had my foot on the gas for a long time, now I’m taking some time off. I’ve still been working in the background, work never really stops. I guess I’m just not doing a hundred appearances a year like before.
‘The Team’ is out now. For more on the Taste Every Second campaign click HERE.