Zayn Malik connects with August Alsina on the newly-leaked remix to “Don’t Matter.”
The track itself builds upon August’s original, which dropped back in June, adding a Zayn verse that follows a raunchy theme with a reference to the late great Baby Girl.
“We rockin’ the boat ’cause you look like Aaliyah to me,” he sings. “One in a million, you one of a kind / Baby you know you be blowin’ my mind / All of my neighbors they wanna know why.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD66rp1-tmo
The former One Direction star addressed the leak on Twitter, confirming that it wasn’t meant to be released after all. “This was not a song I intended to put out, but due to unprofessionalism has been leaked by someone and my fans mean more to me than a stupid leak,” he explained. “so here it is free for you to enjoy, before my music drops.”
The person Malik was referencing is unknown, but he later gave “big love” to Alsina on Twitter. August replied: “Zayn, I’m sending an abundance of love to you! You are my brother, I am yours. I don’t know how this happened but WAY TO MAKE LEMONS INTO LEMONADE. (& a great batch, might I add) 😂😭🙏🏽 we do great work together. ❤️⚡️ Mashallah King!”
Alsina’s next album, Drugs, remains in limbo. In November, the R&B crooner blamed Def Jam for the delay, saying that the label was holding him “hostage.” Meanwhile, Malik is working on his sophomore album, the follow-up to 2016’s Mind of Mine.