Kodak Black's "ZEZE" Is The Highest Charting Song To Start With A "Z" On The Hot 100

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Kodak Black performs onstage during the 4th Annual TIDAL X: Brooklyn at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on October 23, 2018 in New York City.
Kodak Black, Travis Scott and Offset make history on the Billboard charts with "ZEZE."

Kodak Black blessed us with his new song, "ZEZE" featuring Travis Scott and Offset nearly two weeks ago, and it proves to be another hit in Young Kodak's catalog. The rapper's single soared to the number 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 upon its release, earning Kodak Black his second top 10 single in his career. While debuting a new single at number 2 on the chart is an impressive feat, Kodak Black, Travis Scott, and Offset also made Billboard history with their latest single.

Kodak Black, Travis Scott and Offset's "ZEZE" is not only their highest charting single ever, it's also the highest charting single in Billboard Hot 100 history to ever start with a "Z." In the Hot 100's 60-year history, the only other song starting with the letter Z to ever come close to the number 2 spot was the 1963 single "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah," by Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans which peaked at number 8.

Aside from those two songs, there have only been fifteen other tracks that start with the letter Z to have ever made their way onto the Billboard Hot 100. Among those are Post Malone's "Zack and Codeine" which peaked at #23, Chris Brown's "Zero" which hit #80 on the chart and Future's "Zoom" which just made it onto the Hot 100 at #99. Boosie Badazz and Yung Joc's collab, "Zoom" also charted at #61.

Peep the full list below via Billboard.

No. 2, "ZEZE," Kodak Black feat. Travis Scott & Offset, Oct. 27, 2018
No. 8, "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, Jan. 12, 1963
No. 11, "Zorba the Greek," Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Feb. 26, 1966
No. 23, "Zack and Codeine," Post Malone, May 12, 2018
No. 36, "Zip Code," The Five Americans, No. 36, Sept. 16, 1967
No. 52, "Zabadak," Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick and Tich, Feb. 3, 1968
No. 54, "Zombie," Bad Wolves, March 24, 2018
No. 61, "Zoom," Lil' Boosie feat. Yung Joc, Jan. 27, 2007
No. 61, "Zunga Zeng," K7, March 12, 1994
No. 64, "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart," The Trammps, Sept. 2, 1972
No. 78, "Zazueira (Za-zoo-wher-a)," Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, April 19, 1969
No. 80, "Zero," Chris Brown," Jan. 9, 2016
No. 92, "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart," The Furys, Feb. 16, 1963
No. 98, "Zero-Zero," Lawrence Welk, Dec. 8, 1962
No. 99, "Zoom," Future, March 11, 2017


About The Author
Aron A.
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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