Review Summary: A$AP's return is a stylish and creatively restless album
A$AP Rocky has cemented himself as one of the most exciting, stylish, and influential rappers of the 2010s and 2020s. Between the A$AP Mob legacy, his trend-setting fashion impact, and his ability to slide between cloud rap, psychedelia, trap, and left-field experimentation, Rocky isn’t just a rapper — he’s an artistic brand. He’s someone whose albums always feel like events. Don't Be Dumb drops after an eight-year wait - so to say anticipation is high would be an understatement.
Don't Be Dumb is a fascinating album because it’s split between two creative impulses: Rocky doing what he does best (moody, stylish, infectious tracks built on immaculate production with well curated collaborators) and also pushing into more experimental territory. The balance isn’t perfect, but the ambition is exciting, and there are some certified bangers. One thing Rocky has always had is an artist’s eye. He might not be the most technical MC or the deepest lyricist bar-for-bar, but he knows how to curate vibes, how to build fully realized sounds, and how to structure tracks so they feel cinematic. He’s funny, he’s charismatic, he has a great flow, and he surrounds himself with the right producers and features.
'Order of Protection' is a fine intro with a moody artsy-fartsy trap beat and seems to establish the mission statement: "I'm back". But
'Helicopter' cements this in much more exciting fasion and is the first big banger, with a fat bassline, sirens and synths popping off, and Rocky weaving in and out of the beat with a lot of swagger.
'Stole Ya Flow' sees Rocky in full flex mode over booming 808s. There's already a lot of discourse around this track is it is very clearly a Drake diss, with lots of jabs including his BBL, being in his feelings, a bunch of other ***, and of course the chorus about Drake tried to steal his flow. As a track it's clever, funny and braggadocios - and anything that puts Drake back in his box is a winner.
From there we get 2 of the albums softer tracks with
'Stay Here 4 Lyfe' and
'Playa'.
'Stay Here 4 Lyfe' is basically an R&B track with some neo-soul influences, punctuated by Brent Faiyaz's gorgeous guest vocals, that then switches into a blissed-out lo-fi outro.
'Playa' is a smooth, flirty track that harkens back to the era when rappers rapped about schmoozing girls, with Rocky using lots of basketball metaphors for his game, and he executes it really well.
'No Trespassing' and
'Stop Snitching' are probably the 2 biggest straight-up bangers on the record, but also see Rocky most in-his-lane and sticking to what brought him to the dance. Both tracks have immaculate beats and catchy flows.
'Stop Snitching' in particular has a dark, grimy beat that reminds me a bit of Three 6 Mafia, and also has a sick feature from Sauce Walka. These tracks show that while experimentation is fun, Rocky’s strongest moments are often when he plays to his strengths.
The second half of the record gets a lot more experimental, and while some of the tracks are hit-or-miss, it is at least always
interesting. You can't fault Rocky's ambition.
'STFU' is a chaotic, noisey rage banger drenched in bass. It's a far more punk track than
'Punk Rocky' and easily the most aggressive and out-there track on the album. It should be played in a subterranean nightclub in a future dystopia. My only beef with it is that Rocky himself doesn't quite meet the same aggressive energy as the beat and Slay Squad's feature.
'Punk Rocky' hits better in the flow of the album as it pairs well with some of the other dreamy, lucid sections, but it still probably the least exciting track on the album.
'Air Force (Black Demarco)' is a track of 2 sides- the first has a beat like an NES game soundtrack with 808s smashed over it, but it switches to a blissful section that's as Frank Ocean-coded as it is Mac Demarco (and then back again). Both sides individually are cool - but I'm not sure if it's cohesive together or that these 2 vibes gel.
'Whiskey' is a waste of Westside Gunn and Damon Albarn's features, as WG is only ad-libbing on the outtro and Albarn's feint background vocals barely register in the mix. Thankfully Doechii is centre stage for her feature on
'Robbery', which is a smokey, sultry number as her and Rocky rap about committing a heist over a classy jazz piano vibe straight from the prohibition era. It's some Bonnie & Clyde ***.
'Don't Be Dumb / Trip Baby' is another track of 2 sides with 'Don't Be Dumb' being a dreamy cloud rap cut that's actually surprisingly gorgeous and romantic, before switching to a more hyperpop-influenced beat on 'Trip Baby' - like if Rocky was rapping on a Porter Robinson track.
'The End' features Jessica Pratt and ***in Will.I.Am of all people and isn't nearly as exciting as Rocky and Pratt's previous collaboration on 'Highjack'. The refrain of
'this is the way the world ends' comes off a bit dreary and ends the album on a downer.
And that’s part of what makes the album compelling. Even when a track isn’t
perfect, you get the sense that Rocky cares — about the production, about the vibe, about creating something fun and interesting with great collaborators. He’s trying to make cool, fun, artistic music — and he succeeds far more often than he misses.
Don’t Be Dumb is a bold, stylish, creatively restless fourth album from A$AP Rocky. After an eight-year wait, he delivers something that feels both familiar at times and adventurous at others. The highs are fantastic, the experiments are interesting even when they’re uneven, and the album reinforces Rocky’s reputation as one of the most charismatic and visionary rappers in the game.
