23 (mixtape)

23 is the second mixtape by British rapper and songwriter Central Cee, released independently on 25 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".

23
Mixtape by Central Cee
Released	25 February 2022 (2022-02-25)
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 Londnblue Lovelife Mura Masa Nastylgia Nko Nick French PinkPantheress Roddy Beatz Santan Dave
Central Cee chronology
Wild West (2021) 23 (2022) No More Leaks (2022)
Singles from 23
"Obsessed with You" Released: 10 September 2021 "Retail Therapy" Released: 6 January 2022[1] "Cold Shoulder" Released: 27 January 2022[2] "Khabib" Released: 10 February 2022

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	8/10[4]
DIY	[5]
Evening Standard	[6]
The Guardian	[7]
The Line of Best Fit	7/10[8]
Loud and Quiet	8/10[9]
NME	[10]

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".^[8] 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".^[7] 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".^[6]

Track listing

23 track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Khabib"	Oakley Caesar-Su Ted Gitagama	3:18
2.	"Straight Back to It"	Caesar-Su Roddy McAuley Valentino Salvi	3:16
3.	"Ungrateful"	Caesar-Su Levi Lennox	2:53
4.	"Bunda"	Caesar-Su Nicholas French Salvi	1:51
5.	"Retail Therapy"	Caesar-Su Emmanuel Oparah Doug Edwards Thomas Richardson Salvi	2:55
6.	"Eurovision" (featuring Rondodasosa, Baby Gang, A2anti, Morad, Beny Jr, Ashe 22, & Freeze Corleone)	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	4:03
7.	"Cold Shoulder"	Caesar-Su Salvi	3:12
8.	"Mrs"	Caesar-Su Christopher Richardson Joe Stanley Sterling Van Reynolds Salvi	2:28
9.	"Air Bnb"	Caesar-Su Salvi McAuley Hako Yamasaki	2:18
10.	"No Pain"	Caesar-Su Thomas Moore Jacob Colcombe C. Richardson	1:34
11.	"Terminal 5"	Caesar-Su Salvi	1:36
12.	"Obsessed with You"	Caesar-Su Alexander Crossan Victoria Walker Oparah	1:48
13.	"8 Ball"	Caesar-Su Conor Mulcahy	2:43
14.	"Lil Bro" (featuring Lil Bro)	Caesar-Su Mulcahy Daniel Adekugbe	3:09
15.	"End of the Beginning"	Caesar-Su Salvi C. Richardson David Omoregie	3:14
Total length:			40:18

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for 23

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11]	6
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12]	22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13]	19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14]	5
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[15]	32
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16]	6
French Albums (SNEP)[17]	9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18]	57
Irish Albums (OCC)[19]	3
Italian Albums (FIMI)[20]	19
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[21]	79
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22]	14
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23]	3
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[24]	15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25]	11
UK Albums (OCC)[26]	1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27]	1
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[28]	1

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for 23

Chart (2022)	Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29]	199
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30]	157
UK Albums (OCC)[31]	49

Certifications

Certifications for 23

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32]	Gold	100,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Central Cee – Retail Therapy [Music Video]". Retrieved 7 March 2022 – via YouTube.
2. "Central Cee – Cold Shoulder [Music Video]". Retrieved 7 March 2022 – via YouTube.
3. "23 [Mixtape] by Central Cee Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
4. Saunders, Chris (25 February 2022). "Central Cee – 23 | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
5. Grice, Alasdair (25 February 2022). "Central Cee – 23 review". DIY. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
6. Smyth, David (25 February 2022). "Central Cee – 23 review: London's rapper of the moment cements his place in the mainstream". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
7. Petridis, Alexis (25 February 2022). "Central Cee: 23 review – London rapper's debut tells of an irresistible rise to fame". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
8. Somervelle, PJ (25 February 2022). "Central Cee brings the number 23 out of retirement to prove a point with his new mixtape". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
9. "Central Cee - 23 - Review". Loud and Quiet. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
10. Williams, Kyann-Sian (25 February 2022). "Central Cee – '23' review: drill star finds himself on the brink of greatness". NME. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
11. "Australiancharts.com – Central Cee – 23". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
12. "Austriancharts.at – Central Cee – 23" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
13. "Ultratop.be – Central Cee – 23" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
14. "Ultratop.be – Central Cee – 23" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
15. "Billboard Canadian Albums: Week of March 12, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Central Cee – 23" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
17. "Lescharts.com – Central Cee – 23". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Central Cee – 23" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
19. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
20. "Italiancharts.com – Central Cee – 23". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
21. "2022 9-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
22. "Charts.nz – Central Cee – 23". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
23. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
24. "Top 100 Albums Weekly". Promusicae. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Central Cee – 23". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
27. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
28. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
29. "Jaaroverzichten 2022" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
30. "Rapports annuels 2022" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
31. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2022". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
32. "British album certifications – Central Cee – 23". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 January 2023.