Drake & Central Cee Surprise Collab “Loading,” Duo Announce Upcoming Joint Freestyle 

Drake’s apparent love affair with the U.K. just ramped up a notch after he announced an upcoming joint freestyle with British rap star Central Cee.  

The West London native has been a national sensation for some time, with arguably the biggest breakthrough of any U.K. rapper in the U.S. Among his American admirers is Ice Spice, who recently revealed she might leak Central Cee’s “Munch” remix. She also announced the pair are also working on new music. 

Calls for a Drake collab have grown since Central Cee was unveiled as the face of Drizzy’s Nike X Nocta collection in 2021. 

The cries became louder after Cench joined the OVO founder in St. Barts in December 2022. He joined Drake onstage to perform his smash hit “Doja” and partied with the Rich Flex rapper and “150 supermodels.” The following month, Drake invited him to Miami to film the “Jumbotron S### Poppin” visuals.  

When Drake shouted out his “twin” Central Cee at the NYC stop of his It’s All A Blur Tour Tuesday (July 18), fans hoped the duo had something in the works.  

Drake giving a shoutout to Central Cee at his show in NYC ⛓️🗽 pic.twitter.com/yVJGUFAx2H

— Link Up TV (@linkuptv) July 19, 2023

The following day, Drake made the announcement fans had been waiting for, teasing he and Central Cee have something “loading.” 

“A little exercise on a off day,” Drake wrote in the caption, revealing their upcoming On The Radar Radio freestyle.  

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Central Cee Prevents Drake From Securing U.K. No. 1

The news comes weeks after Central Cee held off Drake and J-Hus to retain his record-breaking run at the top of the U.K. charts with his Dave collab, “Sprinter.” 

Cench attempted to break down the accent barriers with his LA Leakers Freestyle earlier this year, explaining the differences between U.S. and U.K. slang. He addressed his Stateside impact in an interview earlier this year after performing in New York City’s Irving Plaza.  

“I’ve definitely paid my forefathers their dues; they’ve come and bust down certain doors,” he told The Guardian in April. “And the internet, TikTok – I can just reach so many people with just a click of a button. I was anxious about the American shows; I didn’t know what to expect. But I’m seeing the same characters in the crowd.”