At the time of writing, the face of Harrison Armstrong – better known as Aitch – stares down from bus shelters around Britain advertising Lynx deodorant. You can snigger at this development if you like – it’s hardly Jay-Z endorsing luxury Swiss watches – but it’s worth noting that not every multi-platinum US rapper deals exclusively in high-end products: as well as promoting Balenciaga, Megan Thee Stallion recently recorded a track shilling Cheetos, the American equivalent of becoming the glamorous face of Wotsits. Moreover, it tells you something about the spread of UK rap and the position Armstrong currently occupies in British youth culture: there was a time, before Skepta and Stormzy, when a rapper with a Mancunian accent would have got no further than a tiny local label. Today, if you want to reach a big market of odiferous adolescent boys, Aitch, with a string of Top 10 hits to his name – five of them platinum sellers – is very much your guy.
