“Doja” by Central Cee

The title of this song (“Doja”), as you’ve probably already figured, serves as Central Cee’s ways of publicly expressing romantic interest in Doja Cat, i.e. another, shall we say more-popular rapper from the other side of the Atlantic. And he does make that sentiment known at the beginning of this terse track’s only verse – that, as relayed, he has a desire to sleep with Doja.

But that established, the entirety of this piece does not harp on that particular topic. Instead, the simplest way of explaining Doja is as it being braggadocious in nature, i.e. Cench recognizing that he’s poppin’ on the “UK rap or UK drill” scene and lyrically conducting himself accordingly.

And even though the track may be run-of-the-mill sentiment wise, there are some interesting lines embedded therein. For instance, as macho as he may be, Cee does let it be known, let’s say unlike American rappers, that he ‘values his life’. That is to say that whereas the vocalist may be ‘hood or what have you, he has no desire to die early, not while he’s facing a future where ‘hundreds of millions’ might be made. 

And yes, it’s safe to presume that no rapper actually wants to die. But the point being made here is that this is the type of expression you don’t conventionally come across via those found in America. But by contrast UK rappers, even while implying that they’re trigger happy gangstas, seem more inclined to acknowledge that anyone, even though, connected guys like themselves, could end up on the wrong end of a bullet or knife.

Shoutout to Eid al-Fitr

And he also, quite interestingly, gives a shoutout to the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, in addition to mentioning “Christmas Day”. By the looks of things, Central himself is not Muslim but is more along the lines of someone who strongly identifies with the religion, as is in fact implied via the aforenoted line.

Central Cee

As of the dropping of this track on 21 July 2022, Central Cee, a 24 year old Londoner, can be considered the hottest up-and-coming rapper from across the pond. For instance, the LP he dropped earlier in the year, 23, topped the UK Albums Chart. 

“Doja”

“Doja”, which itself was issued as a standalone single (though may be later featured on one of his projects), likewise topped the UK Hip-Hop/R&B Chart. In addition to that it peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart proper.  Also to note, this track also reached number one on what is known as the Official Trending Chart in the UK.

The producers of this track, WhYJay and LiTek, also co-wrote “Doja” with Central Cee. And sampled therein is Eve’s 2011 classic “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”. 

The song’s music video was directed by none other than Cole Bennett. As such this effort marks a milestone, i.e. being the first time that Bennett – a well-known hip-hop filmographer stateside via his brand Lyrical Lemonade – has helmed the visuals for a UK-based artist.