Central Cee’s ethnicity — What is the rapper’s ambiguous heritage?
Central Cee is on the verge of becoming a household name in the UK drill music scene. At the beginning of his career, he experimented with the trap-wave genre but it was not until after he switched genres to drill music that he would gain viral popularity in 2020.
Despite his newfound fame, Cee is rather secretive about his personal background and even more so about his ethnicity. When asked about it outright by interviewers, he manages to change the subject and avoids getting into the details. But that does not mean that his heritage is completely unknown as a few reports have managed to surface online.
Central Cee is of Irish descent from his mother’s side and has alleged Guyanese and Ecuadorian roots from his father
Central Cee, real name Oakley Neil H. T. Caesar-Su, is believed to be part Irish and part Guyanese. His mother Rachel Caesar is from Northern Island while his father is reported to be from the South American country Guyana.
From his father’s side, Cee allegedly has Ecuadorian roots. Some have speculated that he might have Chinese heritage as well. This is based on the assumption that ‘Su’ in his hyphenated surname is a common Chinese surname. However, he has yet to confirm or deny the reports about his ethnicity.
The only information Cee disclosed about his parents is that he was predominantly raised by his single mother in the West London neighborhood of Shephard’s Bush alongside three younger brothers and that his father introduced him to hip-hop.
He used to spend the evenings and weekends with his father, who loved listening to music. It was during those visits that Cee was exposed to classic American rap records by artists such as Biggie, Tupac, G‑Unit, Wu-Tang Clan, and MF Doom.
Apart from hip-hop, he also gained a liking for reggae, dancehall, and garage house sounds. Central Cee recounted how his father influenced his musical direction in an interview, saying:
“I didn’t really listen to music with my mum, but with my dad, I really soaked it in. I didn’t see much of him so whenever I did get time with him, I took in everything I could, including all the music he played; reggae, dancehall, garage, house, and hip-hop. There wasn’t a lot of UK stuff, though – that was introduced to me more by people my age.”