Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Celebs, Music, One Direction
Ilana Frost
Zayn Malik has officially entered his rap era, and I’m so here for it. On July 5, the former One Direction singer shared a post on Instagram, teasing a rap song titled “Fuchsia Sea.” In the lyrics, he opens up about his time in the band and the racism he experienced as the only non-white member.
Born to a Pakistani father and raised in the Islamic faith, Zayn faced a unique set of challenges when he and his bandmates skyrocketed to global fame. Back in 2017, Zayn opened up about his identity, sharing that he takes “a great sense of pride — and responsibility — in” his background. “I’m not currently practicing, but I was raised in the Islamic faith, so it will always be with me,” he said. “I identify a lot with the culture. But I’m just me. I don’t want to be defined by my religion or my cultural background.”
At the time, he also revealed that he was often profiled at airports while touring with One Direction, subjected to excessive security checks and invasive “questioning about all kinds of crazy stuff.”
Now, for the first time, Zayn is addressing these experiences directly in his music. So what exactly does he say about the racism he faced during his 1D years? Let’s take a look at the lyrics of Zayn Malik’s rap song, “Fuchsia Sea.”
Zayn previewed the song in an Instagram post, and he also shared the lyrics separately in an Instagram Story. “Got my back against the wall so much they think I got a brick fascination / Do you remember every conversation? ‘Cause I have been conscious of every connotation,” he raps in the snippet.
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He continues, “And while they concentrate on their elevation, I’ve got a round trip to the constellation / I’m a convert to the concert, and I did that for inflation, ’cause I worked hard in a White band, and they still laughed at the Asian.”
While Zayn didn’t share a release date yet, he teased that the track is “coming soon.”
It was a horrid day for 1D stans (and specifically Zayn girls) when the “Pillowtalk” singer announced his departure from the group in March 2015. “I feel like it is now the right time for me to leave the band,” he wrote on the band’s Facebook page at the time. “I’d like to apologize to the fans if I’ve let anyone down, but I have to do what feels right in my heart. I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.” Adding that he had “four friends for life” in his bandmates.
The following year, the rest of the band went on an indefinite hiatus, and all the members began pursuing solo careers. Tragically, One Direction only reunited to attend Liam Payne’s funeral in November 2024.
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Zayn clearly has mixed, complicated feelings about his time with the boys. In March, he performed the 1D song, “Night Changes,” at a solo show in Mexico City. “I haven’t sung this song in 10 years,” he told the crowd. “Thank you, that was amazing, I almost cried…”
Cheering this king on as he enters his new musical era!