Alongside playing a few of his own songs during his radio special, Zayn shouted out some of his favourite artists including US rappers Lauryn Hill and Eminem.
The Bradford-born singer also revealed his father was a “massive” fan of Biggie Smalls and he would blast songs by the US rapper loudly so the whole street could hear.
“Rap music was a big influence in my younger years and that was definitely made more prominent by the fact that I was living in Bradford, for sure,” he said.
The singer’s music career began in 2010 as part of One Direction, the boy band formed on TV talent contest, The X Factor.
He rose to stardom alongside the other band members – Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne.
Liam died in October 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
Zayn left the group in 2015 to go solo and released his debut album, Mind of Mine, in 2016, which topped the charts.
The singer went on to release three more albums. The latest, Room Under The Stairs, peaked at number three in the charts last year.