Zachary Alexander Heath, Big $ Z, was born November 30th, 2003, in Greenville, NC. Growing up mainly in Greene and Pitt county areas, he has moved from county to county in Eastern North Carolina various times. In 2011, Zachary’s parents separated when Zach was just a young boy. It was a time that broke him but also molded him into the man he’s become today. His father married a woman, and his mother began a relationship with a new woman. In his childhood, he rarely got along with his stepmom. They always got into heated arguments. But as he became an adult, they became more respectful towards each other. On the other hand, his father was mentally and physically abusive to his son, Zach’s mom (when married), and Tina. While Zach was appreciative of the positive things that his father did for him, he felt that he could never open up to his father due to his erratic behavior.
Music was the only thing that stayed with Zach and helped him along the way of that experience. Music wasn’t the most significant thing in Zach’s family. No one wanted to pursue music as Zachary did. But his family knew about this dream. They always warned him to have a backup plan, but Zach doesn’t enjoy anything else but music. That’s because music has always been there for him when he needs it. Zach started singing pretty much ever since Zach could speak, but he became serious about his music career at 13. The first song he ever learned by heart was “New Divide” by Linkin Park when he was in the 1st grade. Zach would sing at school events with classmates or solo before that age, but he never knew if he wanted to do it for the rest of his life until he was 13. He tried to be a rapper in 7th grade, but he didn’t have the support system or the confidence to do it at the time. He continued singing, singing country music, and eventually, writing it. Zach’s grandma, Jackie, passed away in October of 2017, which devastated him and his father. His grandma loved his voice and loved hearing Zach sing. Zach would sing a song by Alan Jackson called “Sissy’s Song” at her funeral, dedicated to his grandmother. He received a standing ovation, and that’s when his family saw something in Zachary Heath.
Zachary wrote his first song called “Grace of God,” a Christian country song about evil trying to take over the world, but the “Grace of God” saving it from that evil. Zachary tried out for The Voice with Tiphani Avila in Atlanta, GA. He nor Tiphani made it past the first round. The same results came from American Idol, but Zach went to Raleigh, NC, with his father this time. The experience that Zachary has from that has given him that “underdog” mentality. He knows there will be doubters, but it inspires him to push more. In early 2020, Zach started recording music on his phone due to not having enough money for a studio. But due to his feelings about country music, he decided to pursue rap. His first release was called “Big Money Z,” and he uploaded it on SoundCloud in January 2020. It gained some traction, but the song that became a locally viral track was “Drip God,” his 2nd single released on SoundCloud.
His first collaborator with Andrew Shepard, aka CHN, formerly Drew3Tymes, was the first person ever to consider working with Big $ Z. In February of 2020, Zachary moved back to a place he called home in late 2017 and calls home now. I reunited with some friends at Beddingfield High School and made some new ones within the staff. They welcomed him back with open arms. He reunited with whom he considers the “Greatest Chorus Teacher of All Time,” Mr. Hancock. Zach continued his rapping career with some music about an old flame who had broken him. Then, Zach dropped a surprise album called “Heart & Soul” during his birthday month.
Zachary doesn’t consider himself just a “rapper.” He considers himself a versatile artist. Zach proves that on his latest project, “Bridge, Pt. 1”. Sounds are a variety on this album, such as hyper-pop, boom-bap, melodic rap, and going back to his roots a little bit with some country. He now has been working on music with Kid Gucci, a rapper hailing from Wilson, in his studio at his home when they both can make some music. Big $ Z has his independent label and is signed to Kid Gucci’s independent label, GC Productions.