Eagle Era

A review of the long-awaited Don’t Be Dumb by A$AP Rocky

By Shaurya Chaudhary

A$AP Rocky recently came back to music after an almost decade-long hiatus; Don’t Be Dumb was finally released on January 16, 2026, after numerous delays.

It was first teased in 2022 when Rocky released “D.M.B” on May 5th, starting a public rollout by releasing a few singles and appearing in music videos. Unfortunately for fans, Rocky did not end up releasing a full album. His popularity grew rapidly when he released a mashup of two older songs in 2023, which racked up over 700 million plays on Spotify.

Rocky’s older music is well-regarded in hip-hop circles. Olivia Haynes (11) said, “I enjoy the direction his music is going, but I’ll always prefer his old music. His music also always has a deep meaning, which just shows how thought-out it is.”

His mixtape Live.Love.A$AP took inspiration from old New York rappers. Sergio Medina (11) said, “It definitely has inspiration from Nas and Big Al. The drums are very gritty and almost sound like New York itself.” 

Still, Rocky pushed the genre in new directions. He refined his spacey sound and continued to release music, but in 2018, his style changed. The album Testing had an experimental sound—not receiving many positive reviews—as Rocky performed on electronic music and unusual instrumentals that fans weren’t comfortable with.

Yet, Don’t Be Dumb still features lots of styles. Before the album’s release, Rocky explained that it contained every genre of music. The first lead single for the album, “Punk Rocky,” is sung on a rock instrumental that sounds similar to his older song “Sundress” but is more upbeat. He also raps on an early 2000s digital beat in the song “STFU” featuring Slay Squad. Rocky also developed previous sounds from Testing on the songs “NO TRESPASSING” and “AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO).” 

“FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS)” features long-term collaborator Tyler, The Creator and Jozzy—bringing the album back to Rocky’s roots. It starts with a dark flute and pitched-down vocal performance from Tyler and Rocky as they acknowledge their early beginnings, saying, “A$AP Rocky and Tyler up here in H-Town, man / Slowin’ down the world, one song at a time / From H-Town to Harlem.”

In 2024, during the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, Rocky was mentioned in one of Drake’s diss tracks because of complications over Rihanna. Rocky addresses this on “STOLE YA FLOW,” where he says, “First you stole my flow, so I stole yo’ b**** / N***** gettin’ BBLs, lucky we don’t body shame / Throwin’ dirt on Rocky name, turn around and copy game.” Drake has not yet responded, so the argument is still unresolved.

Overall, A$AP Rocky gained mixed reviews on his musical transition. Medina said, “He has some chill beats on Don’t Be Dumb, but I don’t know if I like the new Rocky over the old one.”

Similarly, Jaskirat Singh (11) said, “On the new album, he tries to have an uptempo pace while his old albums were slower and more groovy. The new uptempo did overshadow the lyrics and made some songs underwhelming.”

Don’t Be Dumb has lots of innovative elements but some sounds from the Testing era need to be further refined. 8/10.