Zayn Malik of One Direction has a lot going for him at this point. His singing group is one of the top pop acts around, releasing its latest effort, Four, in November. On the flip side, if the group decided to call it quits, Malik has a record deal offer from 50 Cent to sign with his G-Unit Records imprint. That is certainly a big vote of confidence.
The rapper explained that Malik has to sign with a credible artist to be taken seriously in the rap game.
"If Zayn wants a rap career, just because of who he is, he is going to sell records," Fitty told The Sun, via Sugar Scope. "But if he wants to be credible he has to be with the right people. I'd happily sign him up to my label, mentor him and have him working with the biggest rappers on the planet."
The One Direction singer has already worked on a track for Naughty Boy's second solo effort. The producer even thinks Malik could be the first one from the boy band to launch a solo career.
"We're making music and having fun. This is just like a side gig and I don't think there's anything wrong with it," Naughty Boy said. "It's a good time for Zayn to showcase what he can really do. I don't think that is being fully exploited with the band because there are five people and it needs to be balanced out."
Although the members of 1D have not said anything about splitting up, they have all been busy with other pursuits. According to NME, Liam Payne is working with Juicy J, Louis Tomlinson will be a judge on Be in the Band and Harry Styles has been writing tunes for other acts under an alias.
Manager Simon Cowell has been vocal about the possibility of the band splitting up. Just this month the former American Idol judge said members should pursue side projects.
"We've said to the boys, 'All of you should do other things. If you want to work with me, do some stuff on your own.' They should be allowed to do whatever they want," he told The Sun.
