How's Central Cee Doing In America? [Chicago Concert Review]
Concert Date: May 16, 2025
Location: Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, Chicago
Central Cee has clearly had his sights set on global dominance from early on in his career, taking the UK by storm and then quickly sweeping over Europe too. In June 2023, having already established a strong foundation at home, Cench signed a monumental $25M record deal which would see Columbia Records take responsibility for his music distribution in the United States. A few months later Cee signed with Wasserman Music for worldwide agency representation. For perspective, Wasserman also manages bonafide megastars such as Ed Sheeran, Drake, and SZA.
On January 28th 2025 Central Cee announced that he would be kicking off a world tour consisting of 39 dates, spanning across Europe, North America and Australia.
While Cench is notoriously renowned throughout Europe and Australia, the US is still relatively new territory for the "BAND4BAND" rapper. With $25M waged on his musical success, and a growing catalogue featuring international names such as Ice Spice, 21 Savage and Lil Durk - the pressure for Cench to deliver on his global ambitions has never been higher.
I went to Central Cee's Chicago concert to see how he's holding up stateside. This was actually his second show in Chicago. In February 2023, before signing his major record deal, and before the massive success of "Sprinter" Cench performed to a sold-out crowd at Chicago's Bottom Lounge, which has a 700 person capacity. Fast forward two years later, Cench has comfortably sold out a world tour, including a stop at another Chicago venue where I watched him perform last night; the 5,000 capacity Aragon Ballroom. Yesterday's price is most certainly not today's price.
I might have to cut the line...
As I drove past the venue to find my parking spot I saw a long line snaking down the street, predominantly made up of white teens and young adults, awaiting entry into the venue. It was around 7:15pm and the concert officially started at 8:00pm, so the long queue of concertgoers wasn't a surprise. The south London in me had me genuinely debating if I was gonna cut the queue in order to get a good spot once doors opened. This didn't strike me as a crowd that would confront me. I came to a final decision by the time I'd parked and began to walk back to the venue.
It was empty...
By the time I got to the venue doors there was no line at all. That quickly, the doors opened and the entire line made it through security and were in the venue! I was kicking myself for not showing up earlier. At this point it was spilt milk. I quickly shuffled through security and made my way into the venue. As I headed towards the main hall I walked past the merch stand featuring $100 hoodies and $50 tees. As tempted as I was to grab a little piece of history, I didn't break my stride. When I entered the hall I was taken aback... it was practically empty.
That long line of concert goers that made it in early had barely taken up any space. The show was due to start in a little more than half an hour... Here's what it looked like entering at 7:26pm.
Who all was there...
My optimism began to dissipate as I started considering what the show ahead would like with Central Cee performing to a basically empty venue. I started to consider the possibility of Cench's team fudging the numbers on ticket sales for the appearance of success and high demand. I'm far from an avid concertgoer but I'm pretty sure the venue would have been jam-packed by this time if it was a London show. The initial outlook was concerning.
Nevertheless, I picked a good spot and held it down for the night. There was a buzz of excitement in the air as we all anticipated the show ahead. Music was playing and the crowd all spoke in a collective murmur.
To my left were a group of about half a dozen young gay East Asian guys, excitedly chattering and interacting affectionately. There aren't many artists that emerged from the UK drill scene that have fostered a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. In the summer of 2022 Cench sent a signal to their community, making it clear that this particular street rapper is rainbow-friendly.
To my immediate right was a group of three tipsy college-aged girls excitedly engaging with a group of similarly aged guys they had just met. One of the guys claimed to be big into UK rap. When the most talkative of the girls asked him who he listens to besides Cench, he pauses then answers - you guessed it - Dave. I kissed my teeth.
As more people trickle into the venue, a handful of excited Brazilian guys set up shop close by instantly diverting the girls' attention, all trying their best to communicate in extremely limited English. Throughout the concert these guys showed the most love to Cench. Literally more than the excited girls asking each other "Why is he so sexy?!" They clearly identified with him on a deeper level.
Directly in front of me was an interracial couple, late 20s/early thirties - Jamie and Jordan. (To be clear, Jamie is female, Jordan is male.) Jordan initially turned to ask me how much my Corteiz tee costed. I told him I genuinely didn't remember and quickly realised he thought Corteiz was Central Cee's brand, probably due to the CRTZ x CRG merch collab. Speaking with the couple briefly Jordan tells me they drove 7 hours from Kansas City to see the show and that he tries to put as many people on to Central Cee's music as possible. He wasn't aware I was from the UK at this point, and didn't come across like he had a point to prove - he was being genuine. Jamie let me know that they work with "at risk kids" and recently had visitors from the UK looking to learn from them and implement some of the methods from their program on the other side of the pond. Jordan and I agreed Cench would probably bring out a Chicago rapper as he'd brought out Babytron in Detroit the night before. Spoiler alert: he didn't.
Every time I glanced back, the hall grew more and more full. Within about 30 mins of my arrival the entire venue was jam-packed with an audience reaching all the way to the back. Maybe it's common concert etiquette out here to stroll in right as the show is officially starting. I think it's more likely that a good number of the attendees were more casual listeners. After all, Central Cee did level up to a venue with a more than seven times greater capacity than the first Chicago venue he graced just two years ago.
Let's get this show on the road...
At about 8pm Central Cee's official DJ, Andy Purnell, comes out to warm the crowd up. I sense everyone getting ready for the show as classic bangers play, appropriately including Chicago hits like Chief Keef's "Love Sosa" and the late King Von's "Crazy Story".
At 8:55pm Cench makes his entrance following an onscreen montage of his musical journey.
Off To A Good Start...
Central Cee opened up the show with "Doja," followed by his L.A. Leakers freestyle, breaking down UK slang. As the show got underway Cench keeps the energy high with a selection of songs from his debut album "Can't Rush Greatness" (CRG). He performs "Ten", then "St Patrick's" and "GBP". Unsurprisingly, neither Skepta nor 21 Savage were there to cover their feature verses, but the audience didn't seem to mind.
Cench then switches gears, reaching into his older bag and pulling out "6 for 6," "Day in the life," and "Loading." I was quite surprised to see so many people singing along like they'd been tuned into Central Cee from day one. I imagine many of the attendees discovered him in more recent years and then went digging up his catalogue.
Free Lil Durk...
The energy shifts to a more somber tone when Cee reverts back to songs from CRG, starting with "Must Be." He then immediately capitalizes on the more relaxed atmosphere, switching his focus to the ladies, singing "Cold Shoulder" followed by "Truth in the Lies." Although Central Cee had no guests or features at this show, Lil Durk's absence during "Truth in the Lies" hit different. The Chicago rapper is currently incarcerated fighting serious federal charges that threaten him with life in prison. Cench sported an official "Free Durk" hoodie throughout the entire show, despite at one point stating to the audience that wearing a hoodie and jeans may have been a mistake under the heat of the stage lights.
Catering To The Ladies...
Staying on the chick-tune wave, Cee followed up with "Overseas", and "Did It First." A personal highlight for me was how lit the crowd got when "Overseas" came on, featuring London's very own D Block Europe.
By the looks and sounds of things, DBE could easily sell out significant venues across the US too!
When "Did It First" featuring Ice Spice came on next, the response was a bit more muted.
At the time of writing this, the song has 51M views on Youtube, 220M streams on Spotify. Far from a flop. So why the limited crowd response? Well, to be fair, most of the more female oriented songs didn't go off too crazy. Firstly because most of them weren't crafted to get a room jumping. But another undeniable factor was that this particular show had a bag of man in attendance. Can't Rush Greatness is an album that, in my opinion, naturally appeals more to guys than girls due to the predominant sound and subject matter being more street oriented.
Nevertheless, Cench works his way through the rest of his female-dedicated tracks including "Commitment Issues," "Gen Z love," and "Let Go." During his Gen Z Love performance, Cee rapped as he held up an iPhone on Facetime. The other end of the call was to a phone which was being pointed at individual girls in the audience. The call was displayed on the big screen behind the rapper and lasted throughout the entire song. I didn't personally capture this part, but check out this snippet from Cench's Milan performance.
Cench narrowly makes it into the Gen Z club, turning 27 years old this year. To put things into perspective, in contrast the youngest of Gen Z turn 13 years old this year. Unsurprisingly, much of Central Cee's audience are in their teens or early 20's. There were times where the conversations I heard around me reminded me of university ice-breaker games, conducted by awkward freshmen lit off that 'liquid courage'. Much of the excitement in the air reeked of minimal responsibilities and a lack of bills. To be honest there's no better time to be forming lit core memories and casually socialising.
As Central Cee prepared to wrap up the show, he led the last call with "Limitless," followed by three joint Dave songs - "CRG," "UK Rap" and "Sprinter." As a grand finale Cench riled up the audience, insighting a mosh pit for the next song. Everyone knew exactly what was up next - "BAND4BAND!"
The final song Central Cee performed was ironically "No Introduction". It hit different after a successful sold-out show and made for an epic ending to the night.
Final Thoughts...
Overall, I was pretty impressed by Central Cee's Chicago performance. He put on a good show with minimal support and no guests. To say he's a natural would be an understatement. The audience remained invested from start to finish. It was a well-rounded set and Cench delivered it well. At the end he thanked everyone and abruptly exited the stage. It reminded me of clocking out from a work shift after a long day, leaving behind those coworkers you got love for but don't get paid enough to keep engaging with outside of contracted work hours. After having him up there engaging with us so consistently it seemed like it took everybody a minute to realise the show was now truly over.
Cench is quickly building a following in the states and many are evidently doing their homework, going back to the beginning of his journey and learning the fundamentals. He has Americans rapping in a London accent! No British rapper has toured the US at this level nor wielded this level of influence over the country, and this seems to be just the beginning. There's no doubt Central Cee is setting precedents that UK rappers will be able to capitalise and build upon in years to come.
Jordan. (To be clear, Jamie is female, Jordan is male.) Jordan initially turned to ask me how much my Corteiz tee costed. I told him I genuinely didn't remember and quickly realised he thought Corteiz was Central Cee's brand, probably due to the CRTZ x CRG merch collab. Speaking with the couple briefly Jordan tells me they drove 7 hours from Kansas City to see the show and that he tries to put as many people on to Central Cee's music as possible. He wasn't aware I was from the UK at this point, and didn't come across like he had a point to prove - he was being genuine. Jamie let me know that they work with "at risk kids" and recently had visitors from the UK looking to learn from them and implement some of the methods from their program on the other side of the pond. Jordan and I agreed Cench would probably bring out a Chicago rapper as he'd brought out Babytron in Detroit the night before. Spoiler alert: he didn't.
Although Central Cee had no guests or features at this show, Lil Durk's absence during "Truth in the Lies" hit different. The Chicago rapper is currently incarcerated fighting serious federal charges that threaten him with life in prison. Cench sported an official "Free Durk" hoodie throughout the entire show, despite at one point stating to the audience that wearing a hoodie and jeans may have been a mistake under the heat of the stage lights.
