Harrison James Armstrong (born 9 December 1999), known professionally as Aitch, is an English rapper from

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. He rose to fame in 2018 with the track "Straight Rhymez". His debut studio album '' Close to Home'' (2022) reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. Aitch has released twenty top 10 singles in the UK, including " Taste (Make It Shake)" and "

Baby In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...

", which both peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. The name "Aitch" derives from the pronunciation of the letter 'h', which is the first letter of his given name.

Early life

Harrison James Armstrong was born on 9 December 1999 in

New Moston New Moston is an area of north Manchester, England, four and a half miles northeast of Manchester city centre, between Moston, Failsworth and Chadderton. New Moston Primary School was founded in 1901. Nuthurst Park opened in 1915, followin ...

. He is a supporter of the football club

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. After leaving school, he went to college and played sports, but eventually dropped out and worked in construction with his grandfather.

Career

2015: Beginnings

Aitch first garnered attention in 2015 when a YouTube video of him rapping to friends gained local popularity. He originally did not want the video published, but changed his mind when it gained 10,000 views. A friend continued uploading Aitch's freestyles to see if it would gain more views.

2016–2018: Freestyles, ''On Your Marks'' and Breakthrough

Aitch made multiple appearances on the P110 YouTube channel, starting in September 2016 with a freestyle. In June 2017, he premiered his song "Back To Basics" on the channel. On 9 December 2017, he released his EP, ''On Your Marks''. In May 2018, he released his breakthrough track "Straight Rhymez", earning him national attention.

2019–present: ''AitcH2O'', ''Polaris'' and ''Close to Home''

In August 2019, he released his song " Taste (Make It Shake)" which became his biggest song at the time, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart. He then released his second EP, ''AitcH2O'', in September, which reached number three on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. In March 2020, he collaborated with

AJ Tracey Ché Wolton Grant (born 4 March 1994), known professionally as AJ Tracey, is a British rapper and record producer from Ladbroke Grove, London. Tracey rose to popularity in 2016 and was listed by ''The Guardian'' in a list of "best new acts to c ...

and

Tay Keith Brytavious Lakeith Chambers, known professionally as Tay Keith, is an American record producer. He is best known for co-producing Travis Scott's 2018 single "Sicko Mode", which peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as Drake's " Nonsto ...

on the track "Rain" which peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart.. In May, his third EP, ''Polaris'' was released. In June 2021, Aitch released the single "Learning Curve". He followed this up with "Party Round My Place" in September. In 2021, Aitch appeared on ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...

''. On 3 February 2022, Aitch was featured on

ArrDee Riley Jason Davies (born 17 September 2002), known professionally as ArrDee, is a British rapper. His debut mixtape, '' Pier Pressure'', was released on 18 March 2022, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. ArrDee has received multiple ...

's single "War". The single debuted at number 6 on the UK Official Singles Top 100 Chart and debuted at number 21 on the UK Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 on 11 February 2022. On 10 March 2022, Aitch released the single "Baby" featuring American singer Ashanti (who is credited as co-lead on the single) which heavily samples the latter's 2003 hit " Rock wit U (Awww Baby)". Less than 24 hours later, the single debuted at number 65 on the UK Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100. It debuted on the UK Official Singles Top 100 on 18 March 2022 at number 2. In August 2022, Aitch released " My G", featuring

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

, which is about Aitch's sister Gracie who has Down syndrome. His debut studio album, '' Close to Home'' was released on 19 August 2022, and reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 9 September 2023, he performed during the half time of the

Sidemen Charity Match The Sidemen Charity Match is a recurring charity football match organised by British YouTube group the Sidemen. Founded in 2016, the event features two teams of influencers contesting a friendly match whilst raising money for various British ch ...

at the

London Stadium London Stadium (formerly and also known as the Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford, London, Stratford district of London. It is loc ...

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Other charted and certified songs

Other guest appearances

Awards and nominations

Listicles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aitch 21st-century British rappers English male rappers Rappers from Manchester Living people 1999 births Capitol Records artists