One Direction’s Liam Payne Is Super Cool, Not ‘Snobby And S**t’

One Direction star Liam Payne is currently on hiatus, and it seems that Payne has been making friends in hitherto unimagined places. As one-quarter of One Direction, Payne has become used to having millions of adoring fans across the world, but who would have thought that Liam would be making a stir in the hip-hop world? It was well publicized last year that Payne had been hanging out in the studio with rapper Juicy J and producer Bart Saaci, who is better known as TM88. It seems that all concerned were more than a little impressed with Liam.

According to Now Magazine TM88 was thrilled by Payne’s work on a track he laid down with Juicy J, and the producer even revealed that Liam may join him on a tour with Young Thug in June of this year. Liam laid down the track called “You” earlier this year with Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa, and the track was leaked to the internet.

It seems that TM88 was impressed by more than Liam’s musical ability. Speaking about the leaking of the track, TM88 revealed that Payne also impressed him as a “super cool” guy.

“We kind of didn’t want [the track to] come out right now because it wasn’t ready but it’s dope. The finished version is way better, I hope it comes out soon. It will if Liam wants it to. You think when you meet big pop stars they’ll be all snobby and s**t, but he’s super cool and down to earth.”

According to OK! Magazine, Payne could even be hitting the road without his One Direction bandmates for the first time. TM88 revealed that he is soon to head out on tour and he is hoping that Liam will join him.

“I’m going on tour in the United States in May and then we’re coming overseas in either June or July with Young Thug. Man, I hope we can get Liam out there with us, that’d be crazy. Hopefully we can link up and he’ll come to the shows and join us.”

As Unreality TV points out, Payne’s collaboration is with Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J is a long way from One Direction’s clean-cut pop music, but Liam has long had an interest in the hip-hop genre. Billboard reported as long ago as January of 2015 that Liam had been working with Juicy J after the pair were pictured together in the studio.

After Liam’s collaborative song was leaked to the internet, Payne was quick to say that having released a new single was news to him. Payne took to Twitter to tell his fans that the release was no more than a “one take demo.”

“Hearing that I’ve got a single out lol that’s a surprise to me, that’s a one take scratch demo I was writing with someone as an idea for them. Guess I need to guard my projects better. They don’t even let you finish these days.”

Of course, with One Direction currently on hiatus to pursue solo projects, fans are desperate to know what direction Payne and his bandmates will pursue. Liam has made it clear that he intends to concentrate on his songwriting, and according to the Sun, Liam has even set up his own company called Hampton Music Limited. It has been widely reported that Liam is writing for a host of stars including Jennifer Lopez.

“Liam was asked round to meet Jennifer and they had a great chat about music and how they thought their styles could come together to create something she’d love. It went really well so Liam is now going to work his hardest to write as many tracks as possible and present them to her.”

Liam is said to be thrilled that names as big as J-Lo want to work with him, but Payne’s fans will point to the success of songs he wrote for one Direction as evidence of his skills as a songwriter. It appears that Payne has a big future working with other artists, and the news will come as a relief to Payne fans who have been beleaguered by reports that Liam and his bandmates may be on hiatus for much longer than planned.

[Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images]