Aitch

Emerging swiftly as one of England’s leading rap figures, Harrison Armstrong—known professionally as Aitch and born in New Moston—attained sudden prominence in the closing years of the 2010s once his freestyle “Straight Rhymez” circulated widely online. He contributed to major U.K. tracks such as “Keisha & Becky” and “Strike a Pose,” then secured his own chart entries with the 2019 single “Taste (Make It Shake)” and the AitcH20 EP. Polaris followed in 2020, containing the worldwide platinum-certified success “Rain.”

Raised in New Moston, Manchester, Aitch started performing informally during his school years. After several freestyles attracted notice within music circles, he promptly joined Northern Quarterz Entertainment and issued his first project, the 2017 EP On Your Marks. His approach—marked by fluid delivery, wry lyricism, and an engaging presence—yielded an initial breakthrough with the 2018 freestyle “Straight Rhymez,” which amassed millions of streams. Momentum from that release led to appearances on Kenny Allstar’s 1Extra radio residency and the Daily Duppy series, building a loyal audience and drawing support from Skepta and Wiley.

By 2019, Aitch had moved from prospect to established presence in British rap: his guest spot on Russ Splash’s “Keisha & Becky Remix” reached number seven on the U.K. chart, while “Strike a Pose,” recorded with Young T & Bugsey, climbed to number nine. Capitalizing on this profile, he achieved his first solo hit with “Taste (Make It Shake),” which rose to number two. Before AitcH20 arrived, he earned an even higher-profile credit on the remix of Ed Sheeran’s “Take Me Back to London” alongside Stormzy and Jaykae. The EP itself entered the U.K. albums chart at number three, aided by Sheeran’s endorsement and additional appearances from MoStack and ZieZie. Polaris arrived the next year, another Top Ten release that spawned several charting singles, among them “Rain” featuring AJ Tracey and Tay Keith, which attained platinum status in both the U.K. and Australia.

Further U.K. chart activity followed in 2021 via “Learning Curve” and “Party Round My Place” with Avelino. In 2022, the collaboration “War” with Arrdee became Aitch’s fourth Top Ten single.