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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
James Holt

Autistic boy, 12, overjoyed after TikTok appeal to meet Manchester rapper Aitch goes viral

An autistic boy has been left overjoyed after a TikTok appeal to meet Aitch went viral. Marlee Matthews, who is 'obsessed' with the Manchester-born rapper, was gifted tickets for his 12th birthday by his mum to go and see him perform live in Leicester on October 16.

In a clip shared to TikTok by mum Chelsea, 31, Aitch can be seen pointing at the youngster after he spotted him dancing and vibing on the accessibility balcony at the O2 Academy. The video has since been viewed over 167,000 times, with more than 16,000 likes.

After the heartwarming video was posted online, Chelsea says she is now hoping that the 22-year-old rapper will see the video so that superfan Marlee can 'get a selfie with him', encouraging friends and fans to share it across social media.

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Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Chelsea said: "Marlee has been a huge fan for years. Being autistic, he fixated on Aitch a long time ago and has always loved him, since before he was this famous.

"Usually, he is too young to go to concerts, but the Leicester gig was for ages eight and above, so I got him tickets for his 12th birthday. It was his first concert because he doesn't cope well with loud music and sounds.

"We got accessibility tickets for the balcony, and he couldn't wait for him to come on stage. He kept asking when he was going to be coming on and was so impatient. As soon as he walked on stage he was just in awe and couldn't believe it was really him."

Marlee is an Aitch superfan (Chelsea Matthews)

After a few minutes, starstruck Marlee got up, wearing his ear defenders, and was leaning over the balcony, dancing and singing to Aitch's hit single 'My G', written about his little sister Gracie who has Down's Syndrome.

It didn't take long before the rapper spotted Marlee's moves, and smiled at him, pointing at him for a couple of seconds before continuing with the performance. Ever since, mum Chelsea said the 12-year-old has been 'so grateful' and hopes the rapper sees the clip.

She added: "He was just vibing along and dancing, was nearly hanging over the balcony and was just loving it. That's when you see a hand come across and he catches Aitch's attention. He just wants to be his friend and really wants to meet him.

"The amount of views the video has got is absolutely mad, and Marlee keeps asking how many people have watched it. I don't want to get his hopes up too much, but he is so grateful and just wants to meet him or get a picture with him at best."

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