The most unpredictable former One Direction member, Zayn has chosen a most unique career path.
The first member to leave the UK supergroup in 2015, the musician (born Zain Javadd Malik,) bounced from his debut R&B-leaning Hot 100 #1 charting “Pillowtalk” to “I Don’t Wanna to Live Forever,” the sultry Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack single collab with Taylor Swift , followed by songs with Sia, Nicki Minaj and Zhavia Ward.
Traversing from R&B to pop, old school hip-hop and even uptempo electronica, and most recently signing on to the voice cast for the animated kid flick 10 Lives, on Tuesday morning (11.22), the singer posted his most avant garde choice to date with a cryptic 15-second video that appears to tease an alliance with one of rock’s most iconic guitar heroes.
With Zayn’s name in a bold red font floating in smoke and the Jimi Hendrix moniker in pale yellow, a spare guitar figure bubbles up in the background before the two artists’ names come into focus. Zayn’s voice follows as he sings the opening line “Angel came down from heaven yesterday” from the lesser-known Hendrix song “Angel,” (from the 1971 posthumous studio LP, The Cry of Love.) And just as things get interesting, the video begins to fade as a white feather drifts down to the sound of a distant audience cheering.
The official Hendrix account also shared the social media post with a spokesperson for Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. telling Billboard “We are pleased that Zayn has been inspired to use original music from Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Angel’ in his recording of the song. We’re hopeful that this version of a Hendrix classic will enlighten a new generation of listeners about Jimi’s genius and further propel his continuing legacy.”
In celebration of what would’ve been the guitarist’s 80th birthday on Sunday (11.27), Zayn was invited by Experience Hendrix to create a new version of the song using the original music.
Considered by many to be the greatest rock guitarist of all time, Hendrix died in September of 1970 at age 27, and the current post teased a Friday (11.25) release date .
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Author: Al Denté
Photographer: Ary Groeneveld (?) ; Auteursrechthouder: Gemeente Rotterdam (Stadsarchief) CC-0