Name: Ceebo

Where He’s From: Lambeth, South West London

When He Started: “2019 is the very first time I actually wrote a song and recorded music. At this point, though, I had no clue it was something I actually wanted to do full time but that was the first time.”

Genre: UK Rap

File Next To: Knucks, Dave, Zino Vinci

Sounds Like: “Soulful.” Ceebo’s music can best be described as a mind map of the different music he was exposed to growing up in a Angolan-Congolese household, in the heart of Lambeth. The various sounds that punctuated Ceebo’s upbringing were “Congolese Seben, zouk and gospel; however, my mum and dad were always playing Quiet Storm music on the radio as well letting me watch MTV on the weekends, which is how I was first introduced to hip-hop and R&B.”

First Music That Inspired Him: “The first song that made me want to make music was ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ by MF DOOM; I was 15, just about to turn 16, about to start Year 11. Around this time, in school, the mandem started doing cyphers on the playground and that inspired me as well.”

If East London is the birthplace of grime, then South London is unequivocally the home of UK rap, where pioneers like Cookie Crew, London Posse, TY, Roots Manuva and garage-rap icons So Solid Crew laid the foundation for a growing scene. A decade later, fellow South London legends hailing from areas like Peckham (Giggs), Battersea (Blade Brown) and Brixton (Sneakbo) became the frontrunners of road rap; shortly after, rappers like Stormzy, Dave and Showkey made their presence known, and then the UK drill era kicked off with the likes of 150, 67 and Harlem Spartans at the helm. Home to over two million people, South London’s role in UK rap is not to be downplayed, and as the midpoint of the 2020s approaches, there will be new stars contributing to its history. One of these rising stars is Ceebo, a Lambeth-raised rapper whose latest project, LAMBETHNOTLA, has had the underground rap scene in a chokehold since its release in August.

Ceebo’s beginnings in music were defined by his time in school. “I had privately started writing poetry in a book I stole from school to help me begin to process the grief and angst I was feeling at the time, and I was really digging into old rap albums because I followed a couple pages on IG that would post recommendations of classics,” he tells TRENCH. “One of them ended up being MF DOOM’s Madvillainy, and I swear to God, I felt compelled to write a verse after hearing it. To me, it was like being a caveman and discovering fire for the first time.” From using poetry to cope with trauma and listening religiously to rap music, Ceebo began to record music from 2019, taking it more seriously. He recounts the first song he ever made, which was “a two-minute verse called ‘The Genesis’, over a Wu-Tang type beat. I can’t lie: I was going mad, though, rapping about megazords, keeping money in my socks and lying about smoking spliffs. It was a hot mess but I released it on YouTube. The reaction I got to this track from the guys that knew me in real life was laughable; I used to walk out of the room when a man played it in real life. It was that embarrassing. I was a dead mic-man for time! I can't even stunt.”

Ceebo released his debut EP, Bluquet, in 2023—an insightful introduction to the promising young rapper. He also had a few radio sets go viral on TikTok last year, all of which were filled with witty wordplay, stimulating flows and neo-grime-inspired production. This year, he has earned his rightful seat at the table with LAMBETHNOTLA, an engaging, candid chronicle of Ceebo’s experiences with love, nostalgia and the anxieties of being a young Black man existing in South London. For Ceebo, “LAMBETHNOTLA is definitely a proverbial melting pot—that is to say, all my influences melded and fused in ways that you wouldn’t really expect. I think that’s part of why this tape is being so well received: it’s not just different sounds put next to each other but really the sounds mixed in to create a new organism with a feeling that people have deemed lost in the UK… In the mainstream anyway, because the underground has always been fine.”

Ceebo’s recent project emphasises the importance of hyperlocal rap music and how it can connect even the furthest of listeners. “MEMORY LANE”, produced by Afrosurrealist, has jazz and grime vibes coursing through the entire track; Ceebo also cleverly interpolates fellow South London rapper Loski’s “Teddy Bruckshot” and mentions him as an influence in the song. His bars throughout the project are intimate and frank, and although LAMBETHNOTLA is a regional depiction of Ceebo’s experiences and a symbol of neighbourhood pride, it’s also clear to see that he acknowledges the perils that await Black boys and men in his local area because, as he spits on “MATANGA” (a Lingala term referring to a common Congolese tradition, where mourners celebrate the end of a grieving period), “man hear my tunes, don’t hear my pain.”

While Ceebo’s music is a reminder of great hip-hop artists from across the pond, like Vince Staples or Kendrick Lamar, it’s important to acknowledge that these are not comparisons but actually a way of understanding the direction that Ceebo is capable of heading in. “I’ve seen a lot of people draw comparisons from LAMBETHNOTLA to good kid, m.A.A.d city and I appreciate the praise,” he says. “I can’t lie, though: until I strike out fully and make a project that people deem a classic on its own merit as opposed to it capturing a feeling another artist already did, I won’t rest.”

Creatively, the making of LAMBETHNOTLA “was a spiritual experience, to put it simply,” Ceebo explains. “I knew that going into the first recording sessions, I wanted a project that stood completely aside from anything else the industry has to offer right now. But doing that required a lot of vulnerability on my part as it pertains to being a lifelong resident.” Ceebo worked on the project with executive producers djxhnwav and Jean Blaire, producers Jed Soul and Afrosurrealist, creative producer Ehsi, director mp3g.tmt and rising singer-songwriter Gabriella Cole. He states that “this is the first piece of music I’ve released where people have resonated with it on a relatively large scale and on an emotional level. Man from the ends are saying that this is an accurate representation, man who are not from the ends feel like I brought them into my world, and music critics who have heard it have been raving. This and the fact that man whose music I actively take inspiration from and rate heavily are cosigning me, it’s a dream come true.” Outside of music, Ceebo has a wealth of hobbies and interests: “I run a blog on which I muse on society and culture, for Black people mainly. I’ve been in a choir and I used to do spoken word, but I love going to a good event! I also love basketball and I’m an avid reader.”

With the popularity of LAMBETHNOTLA and the attention on Ceebo increasing rapidly, it’s safe to say he’s on the right track and indeed on a winning streak. He’s already focusing on the next project: “I know what I wanna do for it already, but I don’t want to spoil it. As far as grand scheme, long-term goals, I just wanna drop an album that lives past the time it was created in. Something so steeped in technique and a reflection of the times it was created in, to the point where it outlives the typical album cycle of being forgotten by the time it’s time to do ‘Album Of The Year’ lists. I also want to go on tour.” As well as working on his own music, Ceebo has hopes of collaborating with some UK artists he’s rating highly right now. “Lijanism, .nathan., Zino Vinci, Jim Legxacy, Len, MIKE, Natanya, ENNY, Show N Prove, I want to work with all of them. There’s a longer list but that’s just off the top of my head.” As for Ceebo’s locked-in fanbase? “The Ceebo Hive is growing—slowly but surely.” Move over, Queen Bey.