CONFIRMED: Zayn Malik will rap on new One Direction album, producer Naughty Boy praised Perrie Edwards' fiance's hip-hop skills

Earlier this year, rumors emerged claiming Zayn Malik was set to rap on an upcoming One Direction track off of the boy band's new album that is currently in the works. Now we can confirm the news thanks to producer Naughty Boy, who recently said that he's been working with Perrie Edwards' fiancé on the pop track, praising his rap skills!

"Zayn's actually quite a good rapper," revealed Naughty Boy. "We've been in the studio doing some One Direction stuff and you know, he can spit bars! The song's amazing that we've done."

Malik isn't the only One Direction member reaching out to producers for collaborations though. Harry Styles and Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic have been working together and Liam Payne has teamed up with hit maker Pharrell Williams. While some might worry about the separate collaborations, Naughty Boy says it's good for the boys to expand their sound in any way.

"I think it's good for them, because they're different people at the end of the day. Your never gonna put them in a room and they're like the same thing," he said. "I was the first producer [Zayn]'s actually spent time with outside the band, so I think it's important to him that he's got someone where there is a musical chemistry, and he can actually do what he wants."

It sounds like the new One Direction is coming together with a ton of outside influence. Though that might be a bit risky, we're still so excited to see what Naughty Boy and the other producers have in store for us!