This week Central Cee launched his new Premier League song, called The Team. It owes its existence to a youth-centred, fist-bumping corporate tie-in with Coca-Cola, the press release for which appears to have involved a man in golf-casual clothing frowning at his computer screen for half an hour before typing “cool urban street words, what are?” into the AI search box, then nipping off for a quick brain-bowl strategy lunch with Roger from the Bluesky Synergy hub. The song is really good, because Central Cee is really good.
He’s super-smart with words, funny and snappy, but also surprisingly tender and raw. And yes, this is an oh-no-dad’s-talking-about-rap moment. You can just scroll down if you like.
The whole thing moves on to Cole Palmer very quickly, why he’s both the best English footballer and very easy to love currently, for various reasons. Central Cee is a significant figure, perhaps the biggest British recording artist right now. He’s also oddly raw and fearless in the things he says, in a way that feels distinct from the standard, mannered modern person, and which has got him into trouble at least once.
A few years back there was a furore when Central Cee decided to speak out against sexual prejudice. This sounds as if it should just be fine. Except, Central Cee’s call for tolerance was expressed via a lyric in the song Doja.
And that lyric was: “How can I be homophobic? What Central Cee is saying here, what Central Cee has done while appearing to express a progressive sensibility, is to introduce an entirely new tier of … Basically what he’s saying is: how can I be homophobic? I’m far too busy being sexist.
This caused understandable offence. The b-word is demeaning and cheap, whatever your intentions. To his credit, Central Cee was very good at explaining and apologising, open to other views, while also seeming genuinely non-judgmental of other people regardless of difference or identity, with the exception, of course, of wastemen, mugs and snitches.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
