Zayn Malik "admires" Kanye West's honesty.
Zayn Malik
The 23-year-old singer feels it is more important to be "real" than have lots of money in the bank and thinks the 'Only One' hitmaker's success is down to his ability to speak the truth.
He said: "I believe that success follows authenticity. People see through fake s**t. They don't want to see that; they want a real person.
"That's why Kanye is so successful. He's speaking the truth, regardless of whomever he offends, he isn't bothered. That's admirable."
The 'Pillowtalk' hitmaker was known as the mysterious one whilst in boy band One Direction but believe it was more down to the actions of others than himself because his bandmates - Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson - were more talkative.
He told Complex magazine: "In terms of me being described as the mysterious one, that was put on me as a stigma because I didn't get the chance to speak as much.
"The other boys' personalities were much more forward. They would answer the questions. I would let that happen because, like I said, I didn't have any creative input there. I didn't feel like I was going to say anything about it anyway. Now I get to talk about what I'm passionate about - it's nice to have the chance to speak."
Tagged in Kanye West Harry Styles Zayn Malik