(AllHipHop News) After the success of Adele, Ed Sheeran, and Sam Smith, it appears former One Direction member Zayn Malik is the next British singer to try his hand at R&B music. In a new interview with The Fader, Malik discussed leaving his Pop roots with 1D behind for a more urban sound.

[ALSO READ: Adele’s ’25’ Predicted To Sell Over 1 Million Copies In Its First Week]

According to the 22-year-old performer, the genre transition should not be seen as a surprise. Malik revealed he was never 100% behind the music he was forced to make as part of One Direction.

“There was never any room for me to experiment creatively in the band,” said Zayn. “If I would sing a hook or a verse slightly R&B, or slightly myself, it would always be recorded 50 times until there was a straight version that was pop, generic as f*ck, so they could use that version.”

Malik is currently working with 37-year-old producer James “Malay” Ho on his debut solo album., Malay’s credits includes tracks with artists such as John Legend, Alicia Keys, Fantasia, and Jamie Foxx. He also worked extensively on the Grammy winning channel ORANGE album by Frank Ocean.

In fact, Ocean’s honest writing style is being viewed as sort of a template for the new tunes from Malik. His current vocal offerings are said to be more harmonious with The Weeknd or Miguel than anything created during his run with Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson.

“Would you listen to One Direction, sat at a party with your girl? I wouldn’t. To me, that’s not an insult, that’s me as a 22-year-old man,” added Zayn. “As much as I was in that band, and I loved everything that we did, that’s not music that I would listen to. I don’t think that’s an offensive statement to make. That’s just not who I am. If I was sat at a dinner date with a girl, I would play some cool sh*t, you know what I mean? I want to make music that I think is cool sh*t. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.”

The RCA recording artist already has a fan in 50 Cent – the rap star that also happened to have collaborated with Malay in the past. The G-Unit leader even suggested Zayn has the potential to follow in the prosperous footsteps of fellow boy bander-turned-solo act Justin Timberlake.