Moston-born Aitch has reached a huge milestone in his musical career, at the age of just 23. The North Manchester rapper won the Best British Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act BRIT Award at the 2023 ceremony, the first of his career. In a tweet following the event, he thanked his dedicated fans, saying: “Big up all my fans that voted we won a Brit together”.
Adding: “Not many people where I’m from, especially my side of Manchester get the opportunity to receive such an amazing award. Thank you all, my fans are the best.”
Aitch has always been a huge advocate for his native Manchester, especially the city’s more deprived areas, or “my side of Manchester” as he refers to it, evoking an emotional and unwavering response from fans and locals.
In response to the tweet, and Aitch’s win in general, Twitter users have come out in force, with users such as @Magwitch3 dubbing the rapper the “perfect role model to young people”, a sentiment echoed by @63Mason, who said: “You deserve it mate you’re a lovely lad with an amazing voice!”.
Others were left feeling proud of their roots, like @edgephil who said simply: “Moston loud and proud”.
Aitch also cheekily captioned his post-BRITs Instagram post: “This one’s for Manchester🐝❤️ The next ones all for me😋👊”, the response to which was even bigger than the one he received on Twitter.
Showbiz friends such as Tion Wayne, Tom Grennan, and Ms. Banks turned to the post to congratulate the rapper, alongside countless comments mentioning “0161” – the telephone prefix for Manchester that has become synonymous with Aitch.
The win comes off the back of Aitch’s 2022 album Close To Home, a further homage to his home city. The album features many references to Manchester bands such as the Stone Roses, and legends including Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays and punk poet John Cooper Clarke, bringing respect for the city’s musical history right up to date with Aitch’s signature style. His sense of belonging to the city of Manchester is as strong as ever, and seems even more poignant thanks to his recent BRIT Awards win.