Singer Zayn Malik dropped a new single called Fuchsia Sea, and unlike sexy hit Pillow Talk, Zayn raps as details the racism he experienced while he was part of One Direction
Singer Zayn Malik released his new song to the surprise and joy of his international fanbase. The rap song called Fuchsia Sea dives deep into the obstacles the British-Pakistani star has faced since his X Factor debut in 2010 and his success as 1/5th of One Direction.
Posting the lyrics pasted onto a black Instagram story, Zayn’s new-style track does not hold back from criticising the media industry, highlighting the systemic racism and classism he faced as a singer from Bradford, Yorkshire.
Fuchsia Sea refers to a flower a ‘hanging lantern’ plant that is most known as native to America and New Zealand, however also appear in northern UK gardens across Lancashire and Yorkshire, Zayn’s birthplace. Here’s a breakdown of the lyrics:
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The song begins: “Rise and fall, I fight intimidation, imagination lack across a nation/ Got my back against the wall, so much they think I got a brick fascination / Do you remember every conversation? / ‘Cause I been conscious of every connotation”.
Reading into these lyrics, Zayn addresses the racial stereotypes spread through the UK, even more prevalent now with the rise of the Right-wing nationalism.
Interestingly, “brick fascination” suggests to slang use of the term brick, which can mean both a low-quality drug dealer as well as an adjective for something that is “completely useless, worthless, or broken beyond repair,” according to fast slang.
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Zayn has faced a wave of media backlash and name calling, not only for his brooding band persona as One Direction’s “mysterious one,” but also as the ex of supermodel Gigi Hadid, with whom he shares a four-year-old daughter, Khai. TV presenter Piers Morgan previously made a dig at Malik, claiming he was the “the serial pain in the backside of the music industry” on This Morning.
In 2012, Zayn hit back at the haters and told Fabulous magazine: “[They said] nasty things like I’m a terrorist. How can you justify that? How can you call me that and get away with it?”.
Labelled a “terrorist,” “surly,” “rude” and racial slurs over the years, the former One Direction member now states he’s “conscious of every connotation” in a bold play of words that speaks volumes for the singer, who normally chooses to remain out of spotlight and media drama.
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With an estimated net worth of £70 million, the star’s lyrics are now circulating around TikTok with many fans creating videos to the specific lyrics: “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”.
Here, Zayn is calling out the racial dilemmas he faced as part of the biggest boyband in the world at the time, since he was the only person of colour in an all-white band. Zayn claims that despite his hard work and dedication, it was never enough because of his race.
The Great British Bake Off winner and BBC TV presenter, Nadiya Hussain, also faced controversy after the cancellation of her show caused an onslaught of criticism by Brits who felt the she should express gratitude for the opportunity in the first place.
This same attitude, reserved for those of immigrant decent, has continuously followed Zayn. Take, for example, Piers Morgan making Express headlines for suggesting Malik “go clean drains” if he didn’t want to be a popstar.
On TikTok, one fan posted a video that has received 161,000 likes. The video stated: “I don’t recall him ever specifically talking about the racism he dealt with in that band, from the media, from fans, hell, from even their management, based of the way he was marketed. He dealt with some s**t”.
She went on to say that “on top of all the mental health issues they were dealing with just as these young guys in Hollywood at that level of stardom, he dealt with the racism on top of that. And he was the only one to have to deal with that. And no one ever defended him!.
She stated: “I know no one defended him because I was the one defending him” online, captioning the post “13 year old me and 27 year old me don’t play about that man”. The video has now reached 1.1 million views and over a thousand comments in support.
With the addition of TikTok coverage, Zayn’s meaningful lyrics are sure to spike with success, the star finally re-entering the limelight after leaving the band in 2015, and the death of fellow member, Liam Payne.
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