23 (mixtape)

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}

{{Infobox album

| name = 23

| type = mixtape

| artist = Central Cee

| cover = Central Cee - 23.png

| alt =

| released = {{start date|2022|02|25|df=y}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre = UK drill

| length = 40:18

| label = ADA

| producer = * Young Chencs

  • 3Lackondabeat
  • AyeTM
  • Chris Rich
  • Chucks
  • Dan Diggas
  • Flem
  • BKH Beats
  • Joe Stanley
  • Levi Lennox
  • {{not a typo|Lond|nblue}}
  • Lovelife
  • Mura Masa
  • Nastylgia
  • Nko
  • Nick French
  • PinkPantheress
  • Roddy Beatz
  • Santan Dave

| prev_title = Wild West

| prev_year = 2021

| next_title = No More Leaks

| next_year = 2022

| misc = {{Singles

| name = 23

| type = mixtape

| single1 = Obsessed with You

| single1date = 10 September 2021

| single2 = Retail Therapy

| single2date = 6 January 2022{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1CbX1k9m5Q|title=Central Cee – Retail Therapy [Music Video]|via=YouTube|access-date=7 March 2022}}

| single3 = Cold Shoulder

| single3date = 27 January 2022{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8efu1VaDk0c|title=Central Cee – Cold Shoulder [Music Video]|via=YouTube|access-date=7 March 2022}}

| single4 = Khabib

| single4date = 10 February 2022

}}

}}

23 is the second mixtape by British rapper and songwriter Central Cee, released independently on 24 February 2022. It was preceded by the release of the singles "Obsessed with You", "Retail Therapy", "Cold Shoulder" and "Khabib". On 4 March 2022, it debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. It features guest appearances from his little brother, credited as Lil Bro, as well as Rondodasosa, Baby Gang, A2anti, Morad, Beny Jr, Ashe 22, and Freeze Corleone, all on the same track "Eurovision". And it broke records in rap history

Critical reception

{{Album ratings

| MC = 80/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/23-mixtape/central-cee|title=23 [Mixtape] by Central Cee Reviews and Tracks|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=7 March 2022}}

| rev1 = Clash

| rev1score = 8/10{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/central-cee-23|title=Central Cee – 23 {{!}} Reviews|work=Clash|last=Saunders|first=Chris|date=25 February 2022|access-date=7 March 2022}}

| rev2 = DIY

| rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://diymag.com/2022/02/25/central-cee-23-mixtape-review|title=Central Cee – 23 review|work=DIY|last=Grice|first=Alasdair|date=25 February 2022|access-date=7 March 2022}}

| rev3 = Evening Standard

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/central-cee-23-review-album-b984225.html|title=Central Cee – 23 review: London's rapper of the moment cements his place in the mainstream|work=Evening Standard|last=Smyth|first=David|date=25 February 2022|access-date=7 March 2022}}

| rev4 = The Guardian

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/feb/25/central-cee-23-review-london-rapper-debut|title=Central Cee: 23 review – London rapper's debut tells of an irresistible rise to fame|work=The Guardian|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|author-link=Alexis Petridis|date=25 February 2022|access-date=7 March 2022}}

| rev5 = The Line of Best Fit

| rev5score = 7/10{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/central-cee-23-album-review|title=Central Cee brings the number 23 out of retirement to prove a point with his new mixtape|website=The Line of Best Fit|last=Somervelle|first=PJ|date=25 February 2022|access-date=7 March 2022}}

| rev6 = Loud and Quiet

| rev6Score = 8/10{{cite web|url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/central-cee-23/|title=Central Cee - 23 - Review|website=Loud and Quiet|date=28 February 2022|access-date=6 March 2022}}

| rev7 = NME

| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/reviews/album/central-cee-23-mixtape-review-radar-3169632|title=Central Cee – '23' review: drill star finds himself on the brink of greatness|work=NME|last=Williams|first=Kyann-Sian|date=25 February 2022|access-date=7 March 2022}}

}}

PJ Somervelle of The Line of Best Fit called the mixtape's "subject matter and approach [...] largely consistent with Wild West", summarising it as "rapid bursts of tracks, many lasting only a couple of minutes [...], it's clear that this is fast music for the TikTok/streaming generation". Alexis Petridis of The Guardian complimented Central Cee's "powerful flow" and ability to "turn a phrase", as well as "how good [he] is at the business of making records, not just writing" with "really strong musical ideas on display". Reviewing the album for the Evening Standard, David Smyth found the mixtape to have the "murky, rumbling bass of drill music" but that Central Cee's "crisp, rhythmic lyrics are less dense with slang than the standards of the genre and he's more likely to brag about a vibrant sex life than a violent past".

Track listing

{{Track listing

| headline = 23 track listing

| total_length = 40:18

| title1 = Khabib

| writer1 = {{hlist|Oakley Caesar-Su|Ted Gitagama}}

| length1 = 3:18

| title2 = Straight Back to It

| writer2 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Roddy McAuley|Valentino Salvi}}

| length2 = 3:16

| title3 = Ungrateful

| writer3 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Levi Lennox}}

| length3 = 2:53

| title4 = Bunda

| writer4 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Nicholas French|Salvi}}

| length4 = 1:51

| title5 = Retail Therapy

| writer5 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Emmanuel Oparah|Doug Edwards|Thomas Richardson|Salvi}}

| length5 = 2:55

| title6 = Eurovision

| note6 = featuring Rondodasosa, Baby Gang, A2anti, Morad, Beny Jr, Ashe 22, and Freeze Corleone

| writer6 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Mattia Barbieri|Morad el Horami|Joseph Doumbe|Hamza Khadraoui|Nicolas De Benedetto|Zaccaria Mohuib|Wesley Bishop|Mohamed El Rifi Ben Yechou|Issa Diakhate|Salvi}}

| length6 = 4:03

| title7 = Cold Shoulder

| writer7 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Salvi}}

| length7 = 3:12

| title8 = Mrs

| writer8 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Christopher Richardson|Joe Stanley|Sterling Van Reynolds|Salvi}}

| length8 = 2:28

| title9 = Air Bnb

| writer9 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Salvi|McAuley|Hako Yamasaki}}

| length9 = 2:18

| title10 = No Pain

| writer10 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Thomas Moore|Jacob Colcombe|C. Richardson}}

| length10 = 1:34

| title11 = Terminal 5

| writer11 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Salvi}}

| length11 = 1:36

| title12 = Obsessed with You

| writer12 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Alexander Crossan|Victoria Walker|Oparah}}

| length12 = 1:48

| title13 = 8 Ball

| writer13 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Conor Mulcahy}}

| length13 = 2:43

| title14 = Lil Bro

| writer14 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Mulcahy|Daniel Adekugbe}}

| note14 = featuring Lil Bro

| length14 = 3:09

| title15 = End of the Beginning

| writer15 = {{hlist|Caesar-Su|Salvi|C. Richardson|David Omoregie}}

| length15 = 3:14

}}

Charts

=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Weekly chart performance for 23

! scope="col"| Chart (2022)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

{{album chart|Australia|6|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}
{{album chart|Austria|22|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=8 March 2022}}
{{album chart|Flanders|19|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}
{{album chart|Wallonia|5|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}
scope="row"| Canadian Albums (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/canadian-albums/2022-03-12/|title=Billboard Canadian Albums: Week of March 12, 2022|magazine=Billboard|access-date=8 March 2022}}

| 32

{{album chart|Netherlands|6|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}
{{album chart|France|9|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=8 March 2022}}
{{album chart|Germany4|57|id=492673|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}
{{album chart|Ireland3|3|date=20220304|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}
{{album chart|Italy|19|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=8 March 2022}}
scope="row"| Lithuanian Albums (AGATA){{cite web|url=https://www.agata.lt/lt/naujienos/s09/|title=2022 9-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)|publisher=AGATA|language=lt|date=4 March 2022|access-date=7 March 2022}}

| 79

{{album chart|New Zealand|14|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=8 March 2022}}
{{album chart|Scotland|3|date=20220304|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}
{{album chart|Spain|15|M|url=https://www.elportaldemusica.es/lists/top-100-albums/2022/9|title=Top 100 Albums Weekly|publisher=Promusicae|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=8 March 2022}}
{{album chart|Switzerland|11|artist=Central Cee|album=23|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}
{{album chart|UK2|1|date=20220304|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}
{{album chart|UKIndependent|1|date=20220304|rowheader=true|access-date=6 March 2022}}
{{album chart|UKR&B|1|date=20220304|rowheader=true|access-date=7 March 2022}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Year-end chart performance for 23

! scope="col"| Chart (2022)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders){{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2022&cat=a|title=Jaaroverzichten 2022|publisher=Ultratop|language=nl|access-date=13 January 2023}}

| 199

scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia){{cite web|url=https://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=2022&cat=a|title=Rapports annuels 2022|publisher=Ultratop|language=fr|access-date=13 January 2023}}

| 157

scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC){{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/20221231/37502|title=End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2022|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=4 January 2023}}

| 49

Certifications

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for 23}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Central Cee|title=23|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=2022|certyear=2024|source=radioscope|access-date=4 January 2025|refname=RMNZ}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Central Cee|title=23|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=2022|certyear=2023|id=18047-5526-2|access-date=22 January 2023|refname=BPI}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}

References