On Jan. 16, 2026 A$AP Rocky finally dropped the long awaited “DON’T BE DUMB” album. This was assumed to be the release date after his performance at Camp Flog Gnaw 2025, where Rocky wore a hoodie with the date “01162026” on his sleeve. However, fans were still skeptical due to this day falling on National Nothing Day, as well as Rocky releasing merch that said “Album never dropping.” Besides his cruel sense of humor, the eight year hiatus is over.
“DON’T BE DUMB” boasts an extensive list of collaborators from Brent Faiyaz, Doechii, Gorillaz, Thundercat, Tyler, the Creator, Westside Gunn, will.i.am and more. In an interview on the Joe Budden Podcast, A$AP Rocky mentioned a deluxe album coming soon, hinting at features with Metro Boomin, Mike Will Made It and even a possible feature with his wife, Rihanna.
Danny Elfman even made contributions to the songs in the album, as a result of his longtime collaborator Tim Burton, designing the album’s cover art. Each character on the cover represents a different alter ego of A$AP Rocky from different eras during his eight year hiatus. The “I <3 NY” representing an earlier point in his career as a native New York rapper.
The crash test dummy is a reference to his last album “Testing,” whereupon it not reaching the same acclaim of his last two albums before made Rocky feel “emotionally discouraged.” Despite this, he continued experimenting with his sound and went beyond what he created for “Testing,” leading to a more evolved A$AP Rocky sound on “DON’T BE DUMB.”
Throughout his music hiatus A$AP Rocky continued making rounds in the fashion world. The cover art character Babushka Boi represents a style he wore in 2019. The character “Rugahand,” was the alter ego of A$AP at Rolling Loud 2023 where he first teased songs from “DON’T BE DUMB,” like “STOLE YA FLOW.”
There is a crosscultural collaboration between themes of German Expressionism from Tim Burton’s side and Ghetto Futurism of which Rocky lists Andre 3000 as a prime example. This combination leads to what Rocky has coined as “Ghetto Expressionism,” which is a new movement that reclaims Black urban life through conveying meanings that challenge perspectives. The bridge between these aesthetics of German Expressionist cinema can be seen in the new music videos for “DON’T BE DUMB,” and its roots in modern hip-hop culture create these beautiful thematic scenes with incredible emotional depth.
Alongside German Expressionism, around this time the Harlem Renaissance was blooming, to which A$AP Rocky being a Harlem native, pays homage to the movement on the album. On the song “Robbery” that features Doechii, it samples the song “Caravan” by Thelonius Monk, which is a cover of a song by Duke Ellington, a grand figure in the Harlem Renaissance movement. The song itself has more jazz themes than regular rap sounds one would expect.
The song “Punk Rocky,” draws on more rock styles with the single’s cover art referencing Playstation game cases. The album includes lots of disses to different artists such as Drake, and even a callback to his recently beaten case where he was nearly facing a 24-year prison sentence. “FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS),” features longtime collaborator Tyler, the Creator in a smooth song.
Overall, there has been a great shift in A$AP Rocky’s musicality, expanding on new sounds that would make the haters of “Testing” even more concerned, but admirable to those excited by his musical evolution. His influences of conceptual art movements have turned the themes of the urban lifestyle into a medium Rocky uses as a political statement, with his fashion lines and music videos being his canvas to express these concepts. This is seen in the song, “The End,” featuring will.i.am and Jessica Pratt, where the subject matter discusses the state of the world with issues around racism, religious blasphemy and institutionalism afflicting it.
Verdict: This album is a certified classic that will stand the test of time. Its roots in conceptual art movements and deeper themes build on this being more than just a regular hip-hop album. It’s the culmination of different aspects of A$AP Rocky as a whole.
