Quickly becoming one of the U.K.'s biggest rappers, New Moston-born Aitch rocketed to fame in the late 2010s after the success of viral freestyle "Straight Rhymez." After featuring on prolific U.K .hits like "Keisha & Becky" and "Strike a Pose," the charismatic MC took his own place on the U.K. charts with the wildly-popular hit "Taste (Make It Shake)" and EP AitcH20. Born in New Moston, Manchester, British rapper Aitch (born Harrison Armstrong) began performing casually while he was still in school. After a series of freestyles drew attention from industry circles, the Manchester MC quickly signed to Northern Quarterz Entertainment, where he released 2017 debut EP On Your Marks. Combining effortless flows with tongue-in-cheek bars and a charismatic attitude, Aitch found his first major hit with 2018 freestyle "Straight Rhymez," which found an audience of millions on online streaming platforms. Capitalizing on this viral success, he shortly landed spots on Kenny Allstar's 1Extra radio residency and popular freestyle series Daily Duppy, winning a dedicated fanbase and earning co-signs from the likes of Skepta and Wiley. In 2019, Aitch turned from 'one to watch' to a key player in the UK scene: his appearance on Russ Splash's viral "Keisha & Becky Remix" landed him a spot at no. 7 on the U.K. charts, while "Strike a Pose" with Young T & Bugsey peaked at a similar 9th spot. Bolstered by this success, Aitch made his first solo chart appearance with 2019's "Taste (Make It Shake)," which soon hit the no. 2 spot on the UK singles chart. Ahead of the release of sophomore EP AitcH20, the rapper secured his biggest placement to date, featuring alongside Stormzy and Jaykae on the remix to Ed Sheeran's "Take Me Back to London." The EP, boosted only further by Sheeran's co-sign, landed at no. 3 on the UK albums chart, with features from MoStack and ZieZie, among others. ~ David Crone
