A$AP Rocky Releases New Album ‘Don’t Be Dumb’

Key Takeaways:

• A$AP Rocky’s new album explores genre fusion with jazz, metal and R&B influences.
• The project features standout collaborations with Doechii, Brent Faiyaz and Westside Gunn.
• Lyrically, Rocky addresses leaks, legal issues and industry copycats while pushing his sound forward.

A$AP Rocky’s Don’t Be Dumb is finally here after nearly eight years since TESTING. The Harlem rapper’s long-awaited fourth studio album is either something fans were incredibly eager to hear or the complete opposite, given all the delays and loose singles. Either way, he delivered 15 songs, two bonus tracks and a huge lineup of features: Brent Faiyaz, Doechii and Westside Gunn, to mention a few.

“It’s been a lil’ while since I been in the league / A couple lil’ trials, couple of leaks,” Rocky opens the album with “ORDER OF PROTECTION,” where he seemingly references last year’s civil assault trial and the many songs that leaked ahead of Don’t Be Dumb. It then segues into “HELICOPTER” (still no Playboi Carti) and an “INTERROGATION” skit about putting out “staticky good s**t.”

The very next track, “STOLE YA FLOW,” is one of the more loaded cuts, with Rocky referencing Tyler, The Creator — who later appears on “FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS)” — and Rihanna. As many fans have pointed out online, there’s also what seems to be a jab at Drake: “N**gas gettin’ BBLs, lucky we don’t body shame / Throwin’ dirt on Rocky name, turn around and copy game.”

On the more experimental side, we’re treated to the metal-inspired “STFU” and “ROBBERY” with Doechii. The latter goes in a more jazz direction, and arguably, Rocky couldn’t have picked a better collaborator, as the Swamp Princess not only delivers two verses but also trades bars back and forth with him on the fifth and final. From there, the father of three jumps in his R&B bag on the first half of “DON’T BE DUMB / TRIP BABY.”

While Don’t Be Dumb was teased as a fusion of “jazz, Hip Hop, metal, indie [and] R&B,” rap is still front and center. You hear it on his anti-snitch anthem “STOP SNITCHING” with Sauce Walka, “WHISKEY (RELEASE ME),” and plenty of other cuts. As a whole, the LP is a more fully realized version of the concept he explored on 2018’s TESTING, just executed with far more clarity this time around. Take a listen below.