Jay Z promises to make Harry Styles 'the biggest artist in the world' during One Direction hiatus

He's mentored the likes of Rihanna and Shakira and now the rapper has set his sights on Styles

Jay Z is reportedly prepared to embark on a 'joint venture' with Simon Cowell (Getty Images)

One Direction may be on hiatus but Jay Z has plans to make Harry Styles “the biggest artist in the world” while The X Factor boyband sleeps.

The rapper is eager to sign the 21-year-old to his record label Roc Nation and mentor him as a solo performer as he did with the likes of Shakira, Emeli Sandé and Rihanna.

“Harry doesn’t need any help with exposure, everybody in the world knows who he is,” Jay Z told the Daily Star in an exclusive interview.

“But he does need to make the transition from being part of a group to becoming an individual artist. I can get him working with the bigger artists, the biggest producers - and have him as the biggest artist in the world within a year.”

Styles’ boss Simon Cowell is unlikely to let Harry go without a fight, but Jay Z is willing to “do a joint venture” with the rival music mogul to make his vision a reality.

“I would love to sign Harry but Simon is going to want to carry on working with him, of course,” he said. “We could do a joint venture, we both have big qualities we can bring to the table, and Harry can make more than enough money for everybody to get a piece of the pie.”

Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson of One Direction (Getty Images)

Rumours that Styles is already working on solo material have been rife since he registered a string of new songs under his name, co-written with Gary Go and Snow Patrol’s John McDaid.

Styles is yet to confirm that he is interested in a solo career but tracks included “Coco”, “Endlessly”, “5378 Miles” and “Already Home”