Aitch

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 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.

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. His debut studio album, Close to Home was released on 19 August 2022, and reached number two on the UK Albums Chart.

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 BEL(FL) IRE Close to HomeReleased: 19 August 2022 Label: EMI, Capitol, Infinitum Format: CD, digital download, streaming, vinyl, cassette 2 52 169 24 46 BPI: Silver 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 SCO "Blitzed"(featuring Kay Rico) 2018 — — — — — "Vibsing" — — — — — "Daily Duppy"(featuring GRM Daily) — — — — — BPI: Silver — — — — — "Straight Rhymez" — — — — — BPI: Silver — — — — — "Wait" 2019 — — — — — "On the Way Home"(with Jaykae featuring Bowser Boss) 73 — — — — BPI: Silver 8 — 55 — 74 BPI: Platinum 2020 34 — 78 — — "Rain" 3 61 10 — 23 BPI: 2× Platinum Polaris "Raw" 57 — — — — "Goyard Batman" — — — — — "Safe to Say" 56 — 85 — — BPI: Silver 2021 27 — 74 — — BPI: Silver 52 — — — — "Party Round My Place" 56 — — — — "War" 2022 6 — 28 — — BPI: Silver Close to Home "Just Coz" 42 — — — — "1989" 23 — 62 — — Close to Home "In Disguise" — — — — — "My G" 6 — 32 — — BPI: Gold 2023 — — — — — "Hide N Seek" — — — — — "Tip Toes" 52 — — — — "Scary" 88 — — — — "Landslide" — — — — — Lost Files "Heist" — — — — — "Famous Girl" 2024 78 — — — — "Baddies" — — — — — "Gold Mine" 71 — — — — "Maybach Wallet" — — — — — "FWG" — — — — — "Scary Movie" — — — — — "Raving in the Studio" 2025 22 — — — — BPI: Silver — — — — — "Col4 Body" — — — — — "GTTB" 2026 — — — — — "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 GER IRE "Strike a Pose" 2019 9 — — 11 31 — BPI: 2× Platinum 20 — — 61 — — BPI: Silver 35 — — 76 — — BPI: Silver 2020 — — — — — — "12:12 AM / Patients (F*****g Up a Friday)" — — — — — — Friday Forever "UFO" 11 — — 52 — — BPI: Platinum 2021 46 — — — — — Guilty "Bad" 82 — — — — — "Bamba" 2022 — 1 1 — — 1 BVMI: Platinum IFPI AUT: Platinum Majestic "Let's Go" 30 — — 84 — — "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

Other charted and certified songs

Awards and nominations

Listicles PublisherYearListicleResultForbes202230 Under 30: Entertainment (Europe)Placed