Following his shocking departure from One Direction, Zayn Malik is now going in a new direction, as his upcoming solo music will reportedly be inspired by none other than rap star Drake.

The former boyband member, who has "always been a big fan" of the Toronto rapper, supposedly plans to pursue his music career in hip-hop/R&B scene.

"Zayn won't be disappointing fans by just rapping on his records -- he has put his falsetto voice to the test on several songs," a source revealed to HollywoodLife.com.

The source added that Malik has been listening to Drake, which has been inspiring the kind of music he wants to be involved with. The former One Direction member reportedly wants to "channel" Drake's work, and he hopes that some of "magic will rub off on him."

The source continues by explaining that Malik supposedly has ambitions to put out an album that can compete with Drake's music on the R&B charts.

According to Now magazine, Malik's new album will sound far different to anything that One Direction has ever made in the past.

"It's very slowed down R&B and quite sexual," an insider claimed. "It's going to blow fans' minds."

With that being said, Naughty Boy took to his Twitter account on Monday evening to release the "Steal My Girl" crooner's first solo track titled "I Won't Mind," in which he sings over an acoustic guitar:


"Let the music do the talking. There is nothing but love for what was left behind. Thats why we don't mind. ;) #2016 #zaughty #zindabad," the British producer added in the SoundCloud description.

He also retweeted a video clip, which claimed that "Naughty Boy saved 'Zaughty'" and "Zaughty will rise."

Zayn Malik's ex-bandmate, Louis Tomlinson, immediately reacted to the post, and did not hide his anger.