50 Cent: '1D took a break at the wrong time'

50 Cent thinks One Direction timed their hiatus badly, and are missing out on some serious cash.

Candy Shop rapper 50 knows all about being at the top of the charts, selling 30 million albums worldwide and bagging a Grammy Award to boot.

Not one to keep his opinions to himself, 50, real name Curtis Jackson, has extended his advice to the British boyband, suggesting that Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan should think about regrouping sooner rather than later.

"I am coming at this with my business head on, but the One Direction guys took a break at the wrong time,” 50 told Britain’s Daily Star newspaper. "My advice to them would be to reform as quickly as they can."

After forming on The X Factor U.K. in 2010, with former member Zayn Malik, One Direction quickly became the biggest band in the world.

After Zayn’s shock decision to leave the group on March 2015, it didn’t take long for the band to follow suit, and they started their hiatus in January 2016. Louis confirmed the break would last for about 18 months, but it’s since been claimed it could be much longer.

“They can reform in five or six years, but they are a phenomenon at the moment. They are never going to be as popular as they are now, this is the peak for them,” 50 continued. “As an artist, I understand that they want to go off and try their own thing, but they got to understand that not many people who leave a boyband go on to be Justin Timberlake (former NSYNC member).

"But now is the time where they can add another 30, 40, 50 million dollars to their net worth. And it would be a mistake not to take advantage of that."

Since the hiatus, Liam has signed a solo record deal, Harry has turned his attention to acting and will make his big screen debut in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, Louis is pursuing TV ventures and raising a baby son and Niall has been focusing on charity work.