There have been many reports on the reason why Zayn Malik left One Direction in early 2015. Some were outright silly, while some say he was not comfortable being in the group where he claims his personality had taken a beating. To one source claiming the singer did not like the sound the band was producing.

‘Mind of Mine’ is Zayn's attempt to prove himself as an artist and show his true colours by bringing in a low-key, smoky R&B sound, a far cry from the pop - rock 1D sound that fans have known for so many years.

The area where Zayn moves off is not only in changing the genre of his sound, but also getting bold in his lyrics, something 1D never really dared try.

The toppers here include Pillowtalk that speaks of a place to sleep that can be also used for a quarrel. "It’s a paradise / And it’s a war zone," sings Zayn while It's You, speaks of a young and old Zayn. You could also go for the slightly upbeat Befour, or even She and Drunk, the former that talks a bit of the split with his boyband 1D.

1D fans would now get a chance to actually hear Zayn’s voice on his solo effort and cherish how crisp, husky, and versatile it truly is. The interlude Flower is sung in Urdu, his father’s native language. The Brit – Pakistani 24 year old sings: “Jab tak is mohabbat ke phool na khilay / Tab tak is dill ko sukoon na miley” (Until the flower of this love has blossomed/This heart won’t be at peace), against a folk influenced guitar played in the background.

On the duet with Kehlani on Wrong, Zayn produces some great vocal pitch countering his female vocalist. The slow jam is brilliant and excels on this 18 track album. With four bonus tracks added to the playlist, Zayn gives more to his fans, quenching their thirst for just this One Directioner. Bonus tracks on this album total to four and from them Bright and Like I would make for a replay. Just a few songs on the album are thumbs down, that’s because most of them are down tempo, they occasionally start to blend together that gives you the feeling that it’s all mixed. 

To hear Zayn tell it, recording Mind of Mine gave him a chance to escape the tyranny of label-dictated boy band album. This album gave him the opportunity to write and sing however he wanted; this album is giving us the opportunity to hear him perform music he’s passionate about for the first time in his career.

Zayn has taken the path Justin Timberlake of N’SYNC once took. Timberlake knew what he wanted to do with his career and headlined into it with his heart. We see Zayn do the same and hopefully it does work out in the end. Zayn excels and manages to make his fans happy on his debut effort.

Rating: ****

- Reviewed by Verus Ferreira