A$AP Rocky - Don't Be Dumb Review

Eight years in the making, we finally got A$AP’s fifth studio album Don’t Be Dumb, finding the Renaissance man in his genre-hopping pocket. We missed him, and he’s back with more than we could have imagined. 

It’s been a cold (eight-year-long) winter without an album from the beloved music and fashion icon A$AP Rocky, but now we can finally rejoice with a 17-track, hour-long project that blows the dust right off the record player. The album opens its doors with bright synths as A$AP recites “It’s been a lil’ while since I been in the league, couple lil’ trials, a coupla leaks”, a very brief synopsis of the last few years for Rocky. Following shortly after, he remarks “Last time I checked, we still in the lead”, falling nothing short of Rocky’s usual sparkling, confident, humble-bragging self. A$AP is as A$AP was: An artist who knows a break that long wouldn’t take him out of the race, or the lead for that matter. 

Don’t Be Dumb explores the cracks and crevices in Rocky’s long hiatus: Trials, fatherhood, leaks and all. But the album does more than cover time lost to the past, it bridges a gap from Rocky’s TESTING to his modernized movement of sound that challenges our understanding of what 2026 A$AP Rocky sounds like. A$AP has created a body of work that is carefully garnished with sounds from his past, while still pushing for visionary concepts, making for a beautifully crafted, timeless project. It’s difficult to readjust your ears to an artist you only know in the context of 2018 and prior. But this is the beauty of the time gap between projects. Listeners are able to still grab what we know, like “HELICOPTER”’s synth echoes from “OG Beeper”, or even “PUNK ROCKY”’s mirroring of the drum progression in “Sundress”. These are sounds of Rocky’s that we know, and love. Yet, A$AP also brought us tracks like “ROBBERY” and “STFU” to completely defy our familiarity with his work, and call for our ears to acclimate. 

The opportunity to learn who 2026 A$AP Rocky is to our ears is exciting in itself, and is frankly what keeps the industry alive. Reconfiguration of old ideas into new pockets of sound is Rocky’s Don’t Be Dumb. We’re experiencing A$AP’s Renaissance, which is exciting, terrifying, and ultimately riveting.

Don’t Be Dumb’s composition was alluded to back in 2024 with Rocky’s release of “HIGHJACK” feat. Jessica Pratt, a punchy, crisp rap/indie fusion that was highly expected to be a part of the 2026 project. The single’s cover contains what is now the visualizer for DBD’s “HELICOPTER”, and even lyrically referenced “STOLE YA FLOW” in one of Rocky’s bars. But aside from the easter eggs hidden within the release, “HIGHJACK” feels like a perfect appetizer to what DBD manifested as: A genre-blending, flow-switching, masterful piece of art. Over 17 tracks, Rocky finds his pocket in Jazz, alt-rock, electronic, and folk, and he executes them beautifully. He also managed to touch on every edge of the artist feature map, collaborating with Doechii, Tyler, The Creator, Gorillaz, Jessica Pratt, Slay Squad and more. The album spans an almost absurd amount of musical terrain, but it’s rolled out with such precision that makes every track perfectly placed. 

“INTERROGATION SKIT” stands as a raspy interlude for DBD, where Rocky talks his shit over a grainy mic and woozy synth. He says “- i’m enhancin’ my shit…the buzz is about me…with this motherfuckin’ staticky-ass microphone”, claiming his stake as a vanguard musician whose taste surpasses the industry’s agenda. Frankly, Rocky can put out a 45-second rugged shit-talk track and we love him for it, which bleeds perfectly into the track following, “STOLE YA FLOW”, a supposed Drake-dis track to add to the pile. A$AP hits hard with an opening verse of “first you stole my flow, so I stole yo’ bitch”, referring to Rocky’s wife, Rhianna. This isn’t the only reclamatory track for the project. Rocky dips his toes into addressing past allegations, and snitches to be more precise, in his crisply-produced track “STOP SNITCHING” , featuring Sauce Walka who carries a heavy verse in the latter half. 

About halfway through the record, A$AP starts leaning into more of his experimental work. “STFU” feels like a high-speed chase anthem, barring a maniacal electronic flow that overstimulates your nervous system. Between waning and grainy Rocky vocals, a tasteful electric sound vomit, and a beautifully placed Slay Squad feature, “STFU” is a gorgeous etch out of the DBD stump. It’s a moment where old A$AP is left behind allowing his avant-leaning concepts to take flight. 

“ROBBERY” feat. Doechii, DBD’s infectious jazz track, was a standout off the project, summoning whispers of a 1920’s underground jazz speakeasy draped in velvet. Rocky and Doechii dance between flirtatious humming dialogue over a Thelonious Monk “Caravan” sample. Together, the two strike a perfect balance- flexing mink coats and his/her Flintstones with quick-witted vigor, creating a sexually-charged moment that feels like vivid cinema. 

DBD’s experimentation with features is another moment of success for A$AP. “WHISKEY (RELEASE ME)” features Gorillaz vocalist Damon Albarn, and Westside Gunn, making for an unexpected and honestly flawless combination. This track takes your ears through a sort of drunken distortion of reality, moving at a honey-thick pace with a deliberate off-balance position. The iconic closing Gunn adlibs and Albarn vocals harmonize perfectly, despite their fundamental difference in nature. Rocky finds a way to make this excel. In the same vein, DBD’s closing track “THE END” feat. will.i.am and Jessica Pratt melds two worlds together sonically that would seemingly never find the same temperament. Rocky makes the switch from alt-rap to a gentle folk flow seamlessly, and can we expect anything less? From braggadocious talk, to cautionary “this is the end of humanity” rhetoric, DBD finds the space for all of it to coexist, and thrive. 

Don’t Be Dumb isn’t Rocky rising from the ashes attempting to reclaim his position. The position was never lost, and this is Rocky’s glistening postcard from his time away. Eight years without releasing a full body of work didn’t dull his blade or taste; If anything we’re experiencing a sharpened Rocky, with the ability to recalibrate his traditional sounds, and deliver confident, forward-thinking work. DBD pushed us for patience, and it was entirely worth the wait.