Zayn Malik Addresses Racism He Faced During One Direction Days In New Song Teaser
"I worked hard in a white band, and they still laughed at the Asian," Zayn raps in a confronting new tune.
Zayn (Source: Facebook)
Zayn Malik – one of five members of the extraordinarily popular boy band One Direction and a successful solo artist – has called out the racism he faced in the early days of fame.
In a teaser for a new song seemingly titled Fuchsia Sea, which he recently posted to social media (5 July), he rapped, “Do you remember every conversation?/ ‘Cause I have been conscious of every connotation.”
He continued, “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.
“If my granddad could go back, lad, there’s a fat chance of a backhand/ Just a young man with his own kid and a wife now, in a new land/ I know he dreamed hard, cause they’re my dreams/ And I grabbed hard with these two hands.”
Sections of the lyrics match an Instagram Story the singer posted on the weekend, which was screenshotted and shared on X (formerly known as Twitter).
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Zayn was literally branded a ter*orist at 17. He twted a simple Arabic prayer & got called a jihadi. He posted “Eid Mubarak” & white fans told him to stop pushing Islam. He was constantly exoticized only praised when he looked “less brown,” mocked when he looked “too Muslim.”... https://t.co/hQKOoofUTU
— hurrab🍁 (@heartweirdo) July 5, 2025
Malik was born to a white British woman, Trisha, who converted to Islam upon marrying his father, Yaser, a Pakistani Muslim man.
Zayn became a member of One Direction in 2010 after he and his four bandmates – Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and the late Liam Payne – were placed in the group while on The X Factor. They found huge success, particularly in the UK, before disbanding in 2016.
Malik frequently discussed his experiences with racism and Islamophobia growing up in Bradford, England, during the One Direction days. In a 2012 interview, he opened up about being labelled a terrorist as a teen based on his heritage, where he said: “Nasty things [were said] like I’m a terrorist, and this and that. How can you justify that? How can you call me that and get away with it?”
Malik hasn’t revealed when Fuchsia Sea will be released, but the video hinted that the song is “coming soon.” Check out the teaser below.
Zayn’s most recent album, Room Under The Stairs, was released in 2024. Earlier this year, he wrapped a tour in support of the album and performed the One Direction hit, Night Changes, for the first time in a decade in tribute to Liam Payne, who passed away in October 2024.
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