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.
Early life 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.
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, Close to Home and other projects 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".
Discography Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected details Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications UK AUS BEL(FL) IRE NLD Close to HomeReleased: 19 August 2022 Label: EMI, Capitol, Infinitum Format: CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl, cassette 2 52 169 24 46 BPI: Silver 4Released: 20 June 2025 Label: Infinitum Format: CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl, cassette 7 — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Extended plays + List of extended plays, with selected details Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications UK IRE On Your Marks Released: 9 December 2017 Label: NQ Records Format: CD, digital download, streaming — — AitcH2O Released: 6 September 2019 Label: Since 93 Format: CD, vinyl, digital download, streaming 3 18 BPI: Silver Polaris Released: 29 May 2020 Label: Infinitum Records Format: CD, digital download, streaming 7 50 Lost Files Released: 17 November 2023 Label: Infinitum Records, NQ Records Format: Digital download, streaming, USB — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Singles As lead artist +List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK AUS IRE LBN SCOPeak positions on the Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart: For "Taste (Make It Shake)": For "Strike a Pose": For "Buss Down": For "Rain": "Blitzed"(featuring Kay Rico) 2018 — — — — — rowspan="8" "Vibsing" — — — — — "Daily Duppy"(featuring GRM Daily) — — — — — BPI: Silver "Trust Me" — — — — — "Straight Rhymez" — — — — — BPI: Silver "Miss Me with It" — — — — — "Wait" 2019 — — — — — "On the Way Home"(with Jaykae featuring Bowser Boss) 73 — — — — BPI: Silver "Taste (Make It Shake)" 2 — 12 — 8 BPI: 2× Platinum AitcH2O "Buss Down" 8 — 55 — 74 BPI: Platinum "Mice" 2020 34 — 78 — — "Rain" 3 61 10 — 23 BPI: 2× Platinum ARIA: Platinum Polaris "Raw" 57 — — — — "Goyard Batman" — — — — — "Safe to Say" 56 — 85 — — BPI: Silver Polaris "Learning Curve" 2021 27 — 74 — — BPI: Silverrowspan="3" "GSD" 52 — — — — "Party Round My Place" 56 — — — — "War" 2022 6 — 28 — — BPI: Silver Pier Pressure "Baby" 2 — 5 — — BPI: Platinum ARIA: Platinum Close to Home "Just Coz" 42 — — — — "1989" 23 — 62 — — Close to Home "In Disguise" — — — — — "My G" 6 — 32 — — BPI: Gold "Psycho" 5 — 8 19 — BPI: Platinum Unhealthy "Round 2" 2023 — — — — — rowspan="4" "Hide N Seek" — — — — — "Tip Toes" 52 — — — — "Scary" 88 — — — — "Landslide" — — — — — Lost Files "Heist" — — — — — "Famous Girl" 2024 78 — — — —rowspan="8" "Baddies" — — — — — "Gold Mine" 71 — — — — "Maybach Wallet" — — — — — "FWG" — — — — — "Scary Movie" — — — — — "Raving in the Studio" 2025 22 — — — — BPI: Silver "A Guy Called?" 25 — — — — "Straight Rhymez 2" — — — — — 4 "Bounce" — — — — — "Luv?" — — — — — "Till L4te" — — — — — "Col4 Body" — — — — — "GTTB" 2026 — — — — — rowspan="2" "RMB (Ring My Bell)" 40 — 60 — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
As featured artist + List of singles as a featured artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK AUT GER IRE SCO SWI "Strike a Pose" 2019 9 — — 11 31 — BPI: 2× Platinum Plead the 5th "Kilos" 20 — — 61 — — BPI: Silver rowspan="3" "French Kisses" 35 — — 76 — — BPI: Silver "Kids to Adults" 2020 — — — — — — "12:12 AM / Patients (F*****g Up a Friday)" — — — — — — Friday Forever "UFO" 11 — — 52 — — BPI: Platinum The Blue Print: Us vs. Them "House & Garage" 2021 46 — — — — — Guilty "Bad" 82 — — — — — "Bamba" 2022 — 1 1 — — 1 BVMI: Platinum IFPI AUT: Platinum Majestic "Let's Go" 30 — — 84 — — rowspan="2" "Grey (Remix)" 2024 — — — — — — "Bridges" — — — — — — Derdo "DND" — — — — — — Nightmare Before Christmas "Friday Prayer" 2025 — — — — — — Don't Die Before You're Dead "Unsteady" (Calum Scott featuring Aitch) 2026 — — — — — — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Promotional singles + List of promotional singles, showing year released and album name Title Year Album Notes "AitcH2O Freestyle" 2019 rowspan="2" Freestyle released coinciding with the announcement of the AitcH2O EP release date and AitcH20 Tour. "101Barz Freestyle" 2020 Recording of the freestyle performed for the 101Barz YouTube channel. "Murdaside (Remix)" 2024 Lost Files
Other charted and certified songs + List of other charted songs, showing year released, certifications and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK IRE "Already" 2019 43 — AitcH2O "Pop Boy" — — BPI: Silver Heavy Is the Head "Ei8ht Mile" 2020 9 34 BPI: Silver Ei8ht Mile "30" 36 91 Polaris "Parlez-vous anglais" 24 47 Edna "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Other guest appearances + List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released, other artist(s), and album name Title Year Other artist(s) Album "Know Better" (Remix) 2019 Kay Rico rowspan="1" "Keisha & Becky" (Remix) Russ Millions, Tion Wayne, Jay1, Sav'o and Swarmz T Wayne's World 3 "Take Me Back to London" (Sir Spyro Remix) Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Jaykae "Ei8ht Mile" 2020 DigDat Ei8ht Mile "Moving Naughty" GRM Daily, B Young GRM 10 "Parlez-Vous Anglais" Headie One Edna "Latest Trends" (Remix) 2021 A1 x J1 "Operation Fortress" 2023 D-Block Europe DBE World"Who You Are"2025KrsnaYours Truly
Awards and nominations +Award nominations for Aitch Year Organisation Award Work Result2020NMEEssential New Artists for 2020Brit AwardsBest New ArtistHimself2022Berlin Music Video AwardsBest CinematographyLEARNING CURVENominated2023Brit AwardsBritish Hip Hop/Grime/Rap ActHimselfSong of the Year"Baby"
Listicles PublisherYearListicleResultForbes202230 Under 30: Entertainment (Europe)Placed
References
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