Aitch

Combining effortless flows with tongue-in-cheek bars and a charismatic attitude, Aitch is one of England's biggest rappers. The New Moston-born MC rocketed to fame in the late 2010s after the success of his viral freestyle "Straight Rhymez." Featured on hits like the remix of Russ Splash's "Keisha & Becky" and Young T & Bugsey's "Strike a Pose," Aitch took his own place on the U.K. charts with 2019's "Taste (Make It Shake)," his first Top Ten hit as a headliner. Aitch continued to build commercial momentum with the Top Ten AitcH2O and Polaris EPs leading to his 2022 full-length debut, Close to Home, an instant number two hit on the U.K. album chart. By the end of 2022, Aitch had scored seven Top Ten singles as a lead or featured artist, and he went on to win the 2023 Brit Award for Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act. He has since racked up another handful of chart placements that includes "Raving in the Studio" and "A Guy Called?," both of which were released in 2025.Born in New Moston, Manchester, Aitch (born Harrison Armstrong) began performing casually while he was still in school. After a series of freestyles drew attention from industry circles, he quickly signed to Northern Quarterz Entertainment, where he released his 2017 debut EP, On Your Marks. Aitch scored his first major hit with the 2018 freestyle "Straight Rhymez," which found an audience of millions on online streaming platforms. Capitalizing on this viral success, he quickly landed spots on Kenny Allstar's 1Extra radio residency and the popular freestyle series Daily Duppy, winning a dedicated fan base and earning co-signs from the likes of Skepta and Wiley. In 2019, Aitch turned from "one to watch" to a key player in the U.K. scene: his appearance on Russ Splash's viral "Keisha & Becky Remix" landed him a spot at number seven on the U.K. charts, while "Strike a Pose" with Young T & Bugsey peaked at a similar ninth spot. Bolstered by this success, Aitch made his first solo chart appearance with 2019's "Taste (Make It Shake)," which soon hit the number two spot on the U.K. singles chart. Ahead of the release of sophomore EP AitcH20, the rapper secured his biggest placement to date, featuring alongside Stormzy and Jaykae on the remix to Ed Sheeran's "Take Me Back to London." The EP, boosted further by Sheeran's co-sign, landed at number three on the U.K. albums chart, with features from MoStack and ZieZie, among others. The following year, he issued Polaris, another Top Ten hit that featured a trio of charting singles, including "Rain" with AJ Tracey and Tay Keith, which went platinum both in the U.K. and Australia. Aitch remained a fixture on the U.K. charts in 2021 with "Learning Curve" and "Party Round My Place" featuring Avelino. Aitch had an even bigger year in 2022. After he was featured on Arrdee's Top Ten single "War," he began the campaign for his debut album, previewed with the slick "Baby," featuring Ashanti (by way of a sample from the singer's "Rock Wit U [Awww Baby]"). The single entered the U.K. chart at number two, and three months later, "1989" followed it into the Top 40. The full-length Close to Home, issued that August, narrowly missed the top of the albums chart. It spawned another Top Ten hit with the Ed Sheeran collaboration "My G," and Aitch soon rode back into the Top Ten as the featured artist on Anne-Marie's "Psycho." At the Brit Awards the following February, "Baby" was nominated for Song of the Year, and Aitch won Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act. The rapper released numerous singles over the next few years, and in 2025 scored two more Top 40 hits with "Raving in the Studio," a drum'n'bass-inflected track featuring Bou, and "A Guy Called?," a response to Central Cee's "5 Star," in which Cench took exception to Aitch's Brit victory. Also in '25, Aitch released "Straight Rhymez 2," a sequel to his breakthrough track.
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