After 8 years, A$AP Rocky’s highly anticipated 4th studio album Don’t Be Dumb is finally here. With such a long hiatus from releasing music in an LP format, people were wondering if and how Rocky’s music style would change since Testing, his 2018 album. And I would say that Don’t Be Dumb does see A$AP Rocky choosing a new direction in Hip Hop to explore. Early in his career, he was better known for his pioneering ventures within the cloud rap genre, really pushing it into the mainstream. His first mixtape LIVE.LOVE.A$AP is probably the best cloud rap project I have heard to this day, so part of me was hoping that Rocky would return to that sound. For the majority of Don’t Be Dumb though, he veers away from cloud and instead offers grimy, industrial hip hop production over a handful of tracks. After giving the LP a full listen, here are my highlight tracks from it
STAY HERE 4 LIFE (feat. Brent Faiyaz)
The fifth song off the album STAY HERE 4 LIFE automatically grabbed my attention with the silky Brent Faiyaz hook that it starts with. The verses across the track see Rocky smoothly flowing across bright, upbeat production, which is backed up with additional vocals from Faiyaz. You can also hear what seems to be a sample of Ken Carson’s Mewtwo, which was a surprise addition. At the 4th minute mark, the beat switches into this tight drum pattern with chopped up rapping from Rocky and ethereal synths lingering in the background. I wish we could have seen a true verse over this second beat, but the switch still provides one of the best moments on the album, in my opinion.
AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)
This may be perhaps one of the most controversial songs off of Don’t Be Dumb, because it is so far from the norm by Rocky’s standards. To start off with, this track begins with an aggressive, rage-esque synth, accompanied by a fast drum pattern, which reminds me of experimental rage production. It can be off-putting if you don’t like that type of music, but I personally enjoyed the manic sound that this track brings. After each verse, though, the mood switches completely with a fluffy angelic chorus where Rocky exclaims, “It’s so very good to see you / Once again (we high, we high, we high)”. This production flip at the chorus is eerily reminiscent of Kanye West’s On Sight from his 2013 LP Yeezus, with the chorus providing a calm in the middle of a storm. The outro after the second verse provides us with an extended version of the chorus, but now with background vocals from Spencer Sutherland that really put the cherry on top.
WHISKEY (RELEASE ME) (feat. Damon Albarn and Westside Gunn)
This track sees yet another switch-up in terms of style and production, where Rocky and company give us a groovy, chill record in WHISKEY (RELEASE ME). Upon seeing the features, I already knew this would be one of my favorites, because whenever you have legends like Blur and Gorillaz’s Damon Albarn and Westside Gunn, you are almost guaranteed a good track. I have to say, though, I was slightly disappointed in their contribution, as they really are only adlibbing over dead spaces in Rocky’s flows. Don’t get me wrong, it still sounds amazing, but if they could have put a Westside Gunn verse on the song, it would elevate it immensely. I can hear some of Albarn’s influence on the production of WHISKEY (RELEASE ME), which I appreciated greatly as a Gorillaz fan.
DON’T BE DUMB/TRIP BABY
Saving the best for last, I would say that this was my favorite song on Don’t Be Dumb. The first half of this two-part track features Rocky returning to the cloud rap sound that his fans love so much. It really just gives off the feeling of being high up in the sky, levitating above the clouds. After a beat switch, Rocky delivers some strong flows on the TRIP BABY section of the song. It features a watery bass line, along with some shining synths in the background. He actually samples Sinking by Clairo to wrap up a phenomenal two-part song.
Overall, I would say that this album was a success for Rocky. He curated some really solid tracks across the project, and there was not any severe misses either. I did want more from it, though. We have waited eight years for Don’t Be Dumb, waiting through numerous delays, only to receive a good album. I feel like if an artist pushes back a release this much, the end product should be amazing, and as of now, I don’t feel as though this LP delivered an amazing listening experience. It was not super cohesive, and delivered moments that Rocky could have exploited more from. Again, I do appreciate the fact that he stepped outside of his comfort zone in terms of style, but it may take him a little longer to really hone this alternative form. Additionally, I was disappointed that HIGHJACK, a previous single featuring Jessica Pratt, was not included in the tracklist. I think it would have fit stylistically, and it would have definitely been one of the stronger cuts off the project. All in all, Don’t Be Dumb gave us a strong Hip Hop project to start 2026 off with, but it might have let some down who were expecting a work on par with LIVE.LOVE.A$AP or AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP.
