A$AP Rocky has released Don’t Be Dumb, his fourth studio album and his first LP in eight years, via A$AP Worldwide/RCA Records. It encompasses 15 tracks total and includes previously released singles “Punk Rocky” and “Helicopter,” which both rolled out with wildly surreal music videos — the first featuring Winona Ryder, Thundercat, and Danny Elfman.
The album features a serious amount of collaborators, including BossMan Dlow, Brent Faiyaz, Danny Elfman, Doechii, Gorillaz, Jon Batiste, Jessica Pratt, Slay Squad, Thundercat, Tyler, the Creator, Westside Gunn, and Will.i.am. Rocky also partnered filmmaker Tim Burton for the cover art, which features six of Rocky’s signature personas.
The rapper debuted “Punk Rocky” earlier this month, followed by “Helicopter,” which was accompanied by an animated video that Rocky confirmed was “not AI generated.”
When speaking to Perfect about what’s taken him nearly eight years to follow up 2018’s Testing, Rocky said he’s seeking perfection and honed in on building a legacy. “That’s why I’m not so eager to just drop, drop, drop,” he said. “I don’t do things to just try and stay relevant, or keep my name in the conversation. I try to do natural things, creative, ambitious things that really satisfy me.”
In an interview with Variety, he teased the album’s subject matter and a bit of insecurity: “This fucking album, it represents who I am right now. It’s just I hope that it’s digestible,” he noted, adding, “It’s odd because as I get older, I’m more conscious about how I view myself. Describing my life sounds very braggadocious, and I want to figure out how to say it to where it feels more humble, relatable, and sincere, as opposed to just shitting on the next person or making the next person feel down, or just evoking negative shit out of people.”
Don’t Be Dumb sold over 130,000 copies on vinyl ahead of its release date and became the No. 1 pre-saved hip-hop album on Spotify with over one million saves.
