<\/p>\n
At this point, if you tell me ASAP Rocky\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> new album is actually coming soon, I\u2019ll tell you “don\u2019t be dumb.”<\/p>\n But based on some evidence, including a cover and the fact that he\u2019s dropped four new singles for it in the last year, it looks like the project\u2014which is, ahem, actually called Don\u2019t Be Dumb<\/em><\/a>\u2014might actually be on the way. But what do we know about it? Maybe more than you think.<\/p>\n Rocky\u2019s been teasing the album in some way or another for at least the last three years, with a special 2022 collaboration with a superproducer giving us the beginnings of a window into what the album could sound like.<\/p>\n Since then, he\u2019s served up episodic updates on just what\u2019s been the holdup. Still, three years is a long ass time in rapper years, and a whole lot of shit could have changed since he first started making it. Hell, there was the whole A$AP Relli shooting trial <\/a>Rocky lived through. He had the Stockholm, Sweden arrest <\/a>and imprisonment to live through. He\u2019s had three kids in that three year<\/a> span. And the ASAP Mob is essentially\u2026 over since Testing<\/a> <\/em>was released seven years ago.<\/p>\n But for now, it\u2019s time to take a look at what we do know. <\/p>\n Here is everything Check out the breakdown for yourself just below.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Be Dumb<\/em> wasn\u2019t always the title.<\/p>\n In a 2021 GQ<\/a> interview, Rocky claimed that the LP would tentatively be called All Smiles<\/em>. But by May 2022, he had told DAZED<\/a> that his next project would, in fact, not be titled that.<\/p>\n In that interview, he also explained that the LP was almost done, and that the entire idea of All Smiles<\/em> was more of a concept. \u201cI\u2019m wrapping up the new album now; I\u2019ve been shooting so many visuals for it. I don\u2019t want to be cliche or sound like a salesman, but I\u2019ve pushed myself to the limit on everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Clearly, a lot has changed since this convo. <\/p>\n In a March 2025 conversation with GQ<\/a>, Rocky said that Don\u2019t Be Dumb<\/em> was already done, and that it was in the process of being mixed and mastered.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are tired of hearing about updates about the album,\u201d he said. \u201cThey’re just ready to get this shit, you know what I’m saying? I don’t think anybody wants to hear where I’m at with it, how far is it along and all that. They just want to hear some shit just to see where I’m at, and I promise I got some new shit in store. I’m challenging myself. It’s like anything, I approach it with a different tactic, degree, or finesse.\u201d<\/p>\n In one of the coolest, weirdest millennial flexes, Tim Burton is involved with the album. The famed director\u2014known for films like Batman<\/em>, Beetlejuice<\/em>, Edward Scissorhands<\/em>, and more\u2014designed the album cover. What makes it even more interesting is that the cover has \u201cA$AP Rocky and Tim Burton\u201d written on it which raises the question of whether the director has a larger role in the project.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the fact that film composer Danny Elfman, who has composed music for many of Burton\u2019s films, also contributed to the album. Rocky told Vanity Fair<\/em>:<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cDanny Elfman did my album with me, he scored a bunch of the songs\u2026 We had [the TV] on mute and were just making music to all of the old films\u2014Pee-wee\u2019s Playhouse<\/em> and The Simpsons<\/em>, all that.\u201d<\/p>\n In the same interview, Rocky spoke about his admiration for Burton, saying, \u201cI\u2019ve been inspired by him since I was a child. I think what he does with claymation and how he transcended into live-action movies\u2014the parallels between them and how he seamlessly included everything from matte painting to German Expressionism\u2014I think he\u2019s a fucking genius.\u201d<\/p>\n In another interview, this time with Billboard<\/em><\/a>, Rocky revealed that he played the album for Burton, adding that the director was nodding his head along to the music while listening to the LP.<\/p>\n One other thing to note: Rocky performed at Tyler, The Creator\u2019s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival last month and it seemed like he was paying homage to the ending of Batman<\/em>, which featured Joker hanging off a helicopter with a bullhorn. <\/p>\n A day after releasing the cover, Rocky went to Instagram and announced the release date: Don\u2019t Be Dumb will <\/em>be dropping on National Nothing Day, which according to National Day Calendar, falls on January 16th. <\/p>\n To be fair, Rocky has been sending hints for a while now. During his set at Camp Flog, Rocky wore a hoodie with the date \u201c01\/16\/2026.” (He also had merch that read “Album Never Dropping” so definitely some mixed messages being sent.) <\/p>\n When A$AP Rocky appeared on Metro Boomin\u2019s Heroes & Villains<\/em>, it felt like a minor revelation; A$AP Rocky sounds really good on cosmic soul beats. Specifically, from Young Metro. So then, it wasn\u2019t all that surprising when, in December 2022, Rocky told GQ<\/a> that he\u2019d been cooking up new tracks with Metro. In fact, he implied that it might even be a collaboration album.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m gonna put it to you like this: This next album needs to be just called Flacko Boomin, you hear me?\u201d Rocky told the publication. \u201cMost artists wanna make [collabs just because they\u2019re hot]. For us, it\u2019s like, that\u2019s really my nigga.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201c[ASAP] Yams linked me and Metro in 2012. This is before he\u2019s working with a lot of people in Atlanta. He was still in college. A$AP Yams told me Metro was gonna be Metro. He was like, \u2018This is the kid I\u2019m telling you.\u2019 So, Yams wanted this.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, clearly three years and a whole of shit has unfolded since then. So, it\u2019s unclear whether this LP will play out the way Rocky suggested it would with Metro. But this is <\/em>what he said back then.<\/p>\n Depending on how long Rocky\u2019s new album is, we might have already heard a third of it. Thus far, he\u2019s unloaded four singles. The first two singles, \u201cHIGHJACK<\/a>\u201d and \u201cTailor Swif<\/a>\u201dwere released in August 2024. The next two singles, \u201cRuby Rosary<\/a>\u201d and \u201cpray4dagang,\u201d were released in September 2024 and July 2025, respectively. <\/p>\n Up to the point of \u201cRuby Rosary,\u201d it felt like J. Cole was basically like, the only other blog era star Rocky hadn\u2019t collaborated with. Welp, once this one dropped, that was crossed off my imaginary, vicarious Rocky bucket list. The track itself is produced by The Alchemist, who serves up a mutedly haunting soundscape that allow Cole and Rocky\u2019s vocals to shine. <\/p>\n You have to wonder if ALC will produce any other heat for Rocky. HitKidd produced \u201cHIGHJACK\u201d and \u201cTailor Swif.” Also: does the fact that Metro didn\u2019t produce any of these tacks make it less likely he\u2019s on the album? Don\u2019t want to think too much into it. In an August 2024 interview with Billboard<\/a>, he also said Mike Dean, Pharrell, and Madlib are on the album, too.<\/p>\n During Paris Fashion Week in June 2024, Rocky announced that Don\u2019t Be Dumb<\/em> would be dropping on Aug. 30, 2024. However, in an August 2024 X post (formerly known as Twitter), he revealed that the album would be delayed, while detailing just why. Hint: the same shit that halts or fucks up all great albums\u201d<\/p>\nIt Wasn\u2019t Always Called \u2018Don\u2019t Be Dumb\u2019<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Done<\/h2>\n
Tim Burton Seems to Have a Large Role on the Album<\/h2>\n
We Have a Release Date<\/h2>\n
He\u2019s Worked with Metro Boomin for Songs on the Album<\/h2>\n
He\u2019s Dropped Four Singles<\/h2>\n
J. Cole, Madlib, Mike Dean, Alchemist and HitKidd Are on the Album<\/h2>\n
Why He Initially Delayed the Album Release<\/h2>\n
He\u2019s Got a Song with Slick Rick<\/h2>\n