Aitch has announced his second album ‘4’, a love letter to his hometown of Manchester.
The BRIT Award-winning rapper will release the anticipated follow-up to his 2022 debut ‘Close To Home’ on June 20 via NQ Records/The Orchard, and you can pre-order/pre-save it here.
The album includes his recent single ‘Bounce’ and it follows on from ‘Raving In The Studio’, his recent collaboration with fellow Mancunian rapper Bou, and his freestyle track ‘A Guy Called?’.
Explaining the inspiration for the album, Aitch has 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. So with that being said, this is welcoming people into the ’4’!”
“Even though this album isn’t necessarily as personal or as vulnerable as ‘Close To Home’ was, this is just a whole other side of my brain, where I’m just letting it all out, letting the vibes out, and just showing people what time it is where I’m from,” he added.
“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.”
The album art for ‘4’ includes a number of Manchester-centric images, including the city’s worker bee emblem, the stands of Manchester United’s Old Trafford and a street sign for Moston Lane in the north of the city.
Aitch is also set to play at Radio 1’s Big Weekend at Liverpool’s Sefton Park, which is taking place from May 23 to 25. Wolf Alice, Inhaler, Sam Fender, Blossoms, Lola Young, Wet Leg, Myles Smith, Tom Grennan, Biffy Clyro, Confidence Man, Barry Can’t Swim, Nia Archives, Katy B and The Wombats are all also on the bill. You can find any remaining tickets here.
The rapper also made a surprise appearance at a rave on a train last month, after he sent fans on a hunt by scattering train tickets across cities in the North of England.
‘Close To Home’ scored four stars from NME in 2022, who noted: “Seeking to follow Joy Division, Oasis and more by firmly engraving Manchester onto the international music map, Aitch’s debut draws on local heritage but remains heavily anchored in a forward-thinking rap blueprint. With the ‘cheeky chappy’ mask tucked slightly back (if not fully removed), and a more introspective attitude on show, it’s an even more powerful formula.”
