50 Cent is hoping to help One Direction member Zayn Malik launch a rap career, thinking that the hunk would sell a lot of records because of his background in pop.
He said: “If Zayn wants a rap career, just because of who he is, he is going to sell records.
“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.”
And the rapper even believes Zayn could help him launch a joint venture with Simon Cowell, who is head of One Direction’s record label Syco.
He told The Sun newspaper: “I have always wanted to work with Simon, so this could be a joint venture.
“There is no doubt that members of One Direction are going to launch solo careers, and sometimes the bravest go on to be the biggest. Look at Justin Timberlake.”
Simon recently urged One Direction - which also includes Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles - to launch solo projects away from the band.
He said: “You can’t knock what One Direction are doing. They’re making great records and I think that’s why they’re still so popular.
“I hear speculation all the time that they’re going solo. My advice is they should stay together but still do things they want as a little bit on the side.”
It’s not the first time Zayn has been praised by a fellow musician, as Naughty Boy previously praised the musician’s rap skills.
He said: “Zayn’s actually quite a good rapper. We’ve been in the studio doing some One Direction stuff and you know, he can spit bars! Of course he can! Big up Zayn and his bars.”
