‘[People from Manchester] are like the coolest people in the world, don’t let anyone else tell you differently’
Manchester rapper Aitch is currently appearing on screens in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
In his breakthrough song, Aitch told listeners that he’s ‘underestimated’. “I never flop,” he rapped, “I got it boxed, look how I demonstrate it.”
And, to be fair to the Moston musician, in the eight years since the release of Straight Rhymez, he’s managed to prove his theory right. He’s won a BRIT Award, released two top ten albums, and headlined a major festival in his hometown.
The 25-year-old is now set to welcome a whole new batch of fans as he appears in the current series of ITV reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. He joins local favourites like YouTuber Angry Ginge, and Bury-based actress Lisa Riley on the line-up.
The musician, real name Harrison Armstrong, initially hoped for a career in football – inspired by his love of Manchester United. He dropped out of college in order to work in construction with his grandfather.
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Aitch said appearing on I’m a Celebrity… was a chance for him to ‘branch out'(Image: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)
Ten years ago, at the age of 15, he released his first ever song. It wasn’t supposed to be taken seriously, it wasn’t even supposed to be uploaded online. But when his phone, quite literally, blew up with notifications of followers and views, he soon changed his mind.
“I was at my mate’s house and my phone died and I was just chilling playing FIFA,” Aitch told a Manchester crowd at the Beyond The Music festival last year. “By the time my phone came back on again, it was just pinging with alerts from GRM Daily and these other channels. I was like ‘What’s going on? Am I blowing up right now?’
“I swear, I’ve never seen it before, but some thermometer came up on my screen and said ‘your phone is overheating, please shut it down’. I just looked at the mandem and was like ‘I’m ******* blowing up, this is mad’.”
Releasing freestyles on the likes of the P110 YouTube channel, he quickly began to earn a reputation for his rapid-fire delivery. But the 2018 release of Straight Rhymez – backed up with his first mixtape – changed things for good. He began receiving major label deals and being asked to appear on tracks.
Aitch performed in Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter in April ahead of his album release(Image: Jake Lindley / Manchester Evening News)
His next single, Taste (Make It Shake), was a slow-burner hit. It eventually reached a peak of number two on the UK charts, and has sold more than 1.25m copies to date. Then came the release of his second mixtape, AitcH2O, which also became a top five hit.
In 2022, he released songs with Ashanti and ArrDee. He also released My G, alongside Ed Sheeran, which was about his sister, Grace, who has Down syndrome. He recently spoke about the close bond he has with his sister after admitting: “I wouldn’t even be half the person I am if she wasn’t here.”
He would release his first studio album, Close to Home, that same year. Album tracks included Belgrove Road, in homage to his M40 postcode, and Hollinwood to Hollywood, referencing his connection to Oldham.
“I always wanted to sound like where I came from,” he said last year of representing his hometown. “I never wanted that to change.”
Aitch in the ‘Back to Basics’ music video in 2017(Image: P110)
He added of the local scene at the time of his breakout: “In terms of rap music, obviously, there wasn’t much of a massive scene here. It wasn’t very mainstream and not many people in London knew about it.
“Before that, there wasn’t anyone really [in rap] to super look up to in terms of someone who’s reached a certain level. You always want to keep that thing that ‘we’re the best’. We’re actually like the coolest people in the world, don’t let anyone else tell you differently.”
In 2023, Aitch was announced as one of the headliners at the Parklife Festival, alongside The Prodigy, The 1975, Fred Again… and Little Simz. “It’s been one of my main goals since I started music,” he said at the time. “I don’t care what happens after this, I’m happy.”
In fact, his family also took the opportunity to show a cheeky side to proceedings as, on the same day as his headline slot at the festival, his nan Pauline headlined a Plantlife festival in Blackley. At the time, she said she’d be listening to his performance from her back garden – hoping to hear a shout out to her.
Aitch headlined Parklife at Heaton Park back in 2023(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
Showing his love for Parklife, Aitch made surprise appearances at the festival in 2024 and 2025 – appearing alongside Anne-Marie and BOU during their own sets.
Earlier this year, Aitch released his second album – 4 – which was launched in massive style with the inclusion of a fire truck. As part of a mini tour, the musician visiting four locations described as ‘touchstones’ of his career, including Moston Lane (which was referenced in his 2020 hit Moston) and the Stage & Radio venue in the Northern Quarter (where he first met his long-time manager Michael Adex after performing at an open-mic night in 2016).
Speaking of his 2025 record, the performer said: “This album represents, first & foremost, my postcode. My postcode is M40, and for years, since we were kids, when we used to take pictures, we always used to throw 4’s up. It used to be our thing; we were always repping the 4.
Aitch partnered with Manchester street food venture Archie’s on a new box meal(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
“Especially being from Manchester, I feel like sometimes a lot of things are hidden. Because the scene is very London-centric, we don’t always get a look in sometimes, so this is me just ripping that canvas and bringing people into what’s going on over here.”
In addition to music, Aitch has also released a fashion line with the Manchester-based Drama Call label, has his own Syps drink, and even launched his very own meal deal at local street food spot Archie’s.
So when Aitch was first announced as one of the campmates for this year’s I’m A Celebrity…, it was a move which surprised some of his fans. But Aitch said he was ready for the challenge it entails.
Aitch won the Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act trophy at The BRIT Awards 2023(Image: Getty Images)
“You don’t always want to be stuck in the same world forever,” he said of his reasons for taking part. “You can branch out and do other things. You don’t have to stick to the code (rap world), because you think that’s cool. I did have to cancel some gigs for it. But you are never going to branch out if you do the same thing all the time.”
And in a lasting message to his hometown, he added: “Bout to go f*ck up the jungle the Manchester way. Cinnabit.”
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