Aitch (British rapper)

Harrison James Armstrong (born 9 December 1999), known professionally as Aitch, is an English rapper from Manchester. 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 eleven top-10 singles in the UK, including "Taste (Make It Shake)" and "Baby", 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 birth name. Aitch is an ambassador for the charity Down's Syndrome Association to whom he gave a donation from the budget of his music video for his track ‘My G’ as the song is about his sister, Gracie, who has the condition. Harrison James Armstrong was born on 9 December 1999 in New Moston, Manchester. He has Irish ancestry through his mother. He is a lifelong supporter of the football club Manchester United. After leaving school, he went to college and played sports, but eventually dropped out and worked in construction with his grandfather. 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. 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. 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. In March 2020, he collaborated with AJ Tracey and Tay Keith 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. On 3 February 2022, Aitch was featured on ArrDee'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, 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 at the London Stadium. In November 2025, Aitch participated in the twenty-fifth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, finishing the show in 4th place, despite being the bookmakers' favourite to win before the show. On 20 February 2026, Aitch was featured on singer Calum Scott's single "Unsteady". Sue, David (13 September 2019). "'Ed Sheeran wanted a normal day out in Moston' – Manc rapper Aitch spills the beans on pop megastar's day in local greasy spoon". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020. Ainsley, Helen (14 August 2019). "Who is Aitch? Get to know the Manchester rapper taking over the charts". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019. "Aitch releases his debut EP, 'AitcH2O'". Sony Music UK. 6 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021. "Capitol Records UK". UMG. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021. "Sony Music Publishing". "Aitch | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 28 February 2023. Thomson, Zangba (11 March 2021). "A1 x J1 and Aitch release a music video for their 'Latest Trends (Remix)' single". Bong Mines Entertainment. Retrieved 13 August 2021. Weston, Christopher. "The rap rundown: Aitch's real name and nickname explained!". HITC. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2021. Potter, Kate (5 October 2022). "Working in partnership to make a difference: Platinum-Selling Manchester rapper Aitch joins the Down's Syndrome Association as Ambassador - Downs Syndrome Association". Downs Syndrome Association. Archived from the original on 19 December 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2026. "Aitch: Why Down's syndrome awareness is so important". BBC News. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2026. "10 facts you need to know about 'Rain' rapper Aitch". Capital Xtra. Retrieved 2 March 2022. "Revealed: Our new away kit for 2019/20". Manchester United F.C. 12 July 2019. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021. "Aitch talks Central Cee Collabs, Jack Harlow, Learning Curve Video, UK Drill (Interview)". 10 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022 – via YouTube. "Aitch talks Central Cee Collabs, Jack Harlow, Learning Curve Video, UK Drill (Interview)". 10 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via YouTube. "P110 – Aitch | @40Aitch #1TAKE". 16 September 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via YouTube. "P110 – Aitch – Back To Basics [Music Video]". 16 June 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via YouTube. "On Your Marks by Aitch". Genius. Retrieved 11 January 2022. "Aitch – Straight Rhymez 1 (prod. Pezmo) @OfficialAitch". 20 May 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via YouTube. "AitcH2O by Aitch". Genius. Retrieved 11 January 2022. "Aitch x AJ Tracey – Rain Feat. Tay Keith (Official Video)". 5 March 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via YouTube. "Listen to Aitch's new EP 'Polaris'". NME. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022. "Aitch – Learning Curve". 24 June 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via YouTube. "Aitch – Party Round My Place ft. Avelino, Toddla T". 23 September 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via YouTube. Lavin, Will (4 February 2022). "ArrDee and Aitch link up on rip-roaring new track 'War'". NME. Retrieved 11 February 2022. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. "Aitch shares summery video for new single 'Baby'". NME. 10 March 2022. "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100 – 11 March 2022 – 17 March 2022". Official Charts. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022. Daly, Rhian (19 August 2022). "Aitch Shares Heartwarming Video For Ed Sheeran Collab 'My G'". Yahoo. Retrieved 21 August 2022.[dead link] "AITCH – full Official Charts History". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2026. "I'm A Celebrity 2025 winner crowned after series final". BBC News. 7 December 2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025. Forrest, Jo (20 February 2026). "Calum Scott and Aitch team up on "Unsteady"". TotalNtertainment. Retrieved 20 February 2026. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 29 August 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1695. Australian Recording Industry Association. 29 August 2022. p. 6. "Aitch – Close To Home" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 28 August 2022. "Discography Aitch". irishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019. "Discographie Aitch". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved