Red-hot British rapper Central Cee has signed with Wasserman Music for worldwide agency representation, the company announced Monday. The deal comes on the heels of a bidding war that found the artist signing a joint venture agreement with Columbia Records in partnership with Sony Music U.K.
The West London native — who became the first-ever British male rapper to be included in XXL magazine’s influential annual“Freshman Class” list, in June —has long been an established artist in the U.K.. Born Oakley Neil Caesar-Su, Cee, now 25, released his first tracks in 2014 and followed with a long series of EPs and singles over the following years. He released his first full mixtape, “Wild West,” in 2021, which was the top-selling British debut project of the year. His 2022 single “Doja” has racked up more than 550 million streams on Spotify alone and debuted at No. 2 on the official U.K. charts, while his “23” mixtape debuted at No. 1 on the country’s albums chart. He is the first British rapper in history to reach over 1 billion Spotify streams in a single year.
2023’s “Sprinter,” a collaboration with fellow English rapper Dave, debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart with over 13 million streams in just one week. A recent freestyle session with Drake recorded on NYC’s “On the Radar” streaming platform immediately went viral and landed on the Billboard Top 100, followed by a support slot on the final 16 dates of Drake’s current U.S. tour.
Central Cee is represented worldwide by Wasserman Music agents Brent Smith, Lauren Marker, Tom Schroeder, and Jesse Fayne. Wasserman Music’s client roster includes Drake, Kendrick Lamar, SZA, and Childish Gambino.
