Zayn Malik has denied that he’s ripped off rapper Lil Wayne with his artwork for upcoming album ‘Mind Of Mine’.
The former One Direction star will release his debut solo album on March 25, which marks the one year anniversary of Malik’s departure from the boy band.
Malik’s album cover – which shows the singer as a baby bearing tattoos – has been criticised for its alleged resemblance to Wayne’s previous LPs ‘Tha Carter III’ and ‘Tha Carter IV’, which also feature the rapper’s childhood photos updated with his distinctive body art.
Following the criticism, Malik tweeted: “I’m not tryna be no rapper , my album is me a child .. My ideas have been with me a long time… Use your brain, appreciate art don’t discriminate what you don’t understand”.
Emma's Hit List:
– ZAYN steals Lil Wayne’s album cover??
What do you guys think?? Pretty similar! pic.twitter.com/YKy9kx2wT4
— Ash London LIVE! (@AshLondonLIVE) February 19, 2016
I'm not tryna be no rapper , my album is me a child .. My ideas have been with me a long time,
— zayn (@zaynmalik) February 19, 2016
Use your brain, appreciate art don't discriminate what you don't understand
— zayn (@zaynmalik) February 19, 2016
Malik has since teased a clip of what appears to be Lil Wayne appearing on a remix of his single ‘Pillowtalk’.
‘Pillowtalk’ is the fastest selling single of 2016 so far, racking up combined sales of 112,000 in its first week of release.
‘Pillowtalk’ also charted higher than any other song One Direction ever released in the US. The closest One Direction came to scoring a chart-topping Billboard Hot 100 single was with ‘Best Song Ever’, which reached Number Two in 2013.