Ed Sheeran has revealed that his material is going in a "hip-hop" direction.

The British star is most well-known for strumming away on the acoustic guitar in a singer-songwriter style, but it seems his next album may be more "beat" orientated.

Speaking to Billboard, Sheeran said that he has penned almost 50 songs for his second record, with many numbers exhibiting more groove than usual. He said:

"[I'm] probably about 40 tracks into the next album, and I'll pick 14 from that. I'm trying to write as many songs as possible; there are times I've been prolific and times I've not been prolific at all, but I just keep pushing. I think you just have to unclog the pipes and write as many songs as possible."

The 'A Team' man added: "It's definitely leaning towards more of a beat-heavy thing, definitely more hip-hop-like. I think I've evolved a bit more since I made the first record, which I think is a healthy thing."

Ed Sheeran's debut album meanwhile came in the shape of 2011's '+', which gave birth to tracks such as 'Drunk' and 'Lego House'.