Was A$AP Rocky's 'DON'T BE DUMB' Worth the Wait?

A$AP ROCKY: DON'T BE DUMB

SCORE: 79/100

An hour-long ambition, A$AP Rocky returns with his first album in almost eight years, with fans awaiting this album for years (since 2018, when TESTING was released) before Mayers finally brought the project to completion - but was it worth the wait? 

This album isn't the aggressive, rock-influenced power stance you might expect it to be, instead it's an experimentally jazzy, psychedelic project that mixes different sounds and styles into one versatile album - but it isn't the old Rocky, it's something revamped and almost entirely new, softer with moments of hardcore hip hop scattered throughout the two-disc project. It has a deep sense of maturity, cleansing to a modern sound palate and remaking Rocky's sound into something cohesive and precise, his rapping is clear and his vocal deliveries are smooth, and the production has enough variety to make this album worthwhile.

The formatting of DON'T BE DUMB includes various shifts in tone and different styles, including a longer format (including a skit) that reminisces on old-school hip hop albums with a new, modernized flair. Rocky is clear and deeply locked in to the sound and format of the album, and his all is put into everything, with his deliveries coming from his chest and leading the album into a powerful direction. 

It's an absolute powerhouse of a rap album, especially for an album that is primarily labeled as a trap album - one of the weaker hip hop genres that people either love or hate, with Rocky finding the in-between and using it to his success. 

Many different styles were reigned in for this album, making use of alter-egos and various different visual aesthetics and promotional methods to make the wait for this album even more full of curiosity from fans and outsiders. It managed to become one of the most highly anticipated releases of the last decade, and it hits the mark it needed to. 

Despite it being National Nothing Day, Rocky didn't disappoint with another delay, finally releasing the long-awaited album with no more nonsense to come along with it, creating what is undoubtedly one of the best rap releases we will see in 2026. 

It isn't quite the masterclass showcase that many fans (and non-fans) alike had expected it to be - but if you let it work for you? It's a pleasing album that meets some expectations, challenges some, and makes Rocky known as a versatile creative figure both inside and outside of music. The album challenges expectations and boundaries within itself, creating an hour-long "movie" of an album that is sure to please. 

Lyrically, this isn't the best album you can get your hands on - but Rocky's charismatic deliveries and cohesion make it highly worthwhile, with various elements coming together into one album that makes its runtime worth the effort. It's ambitiously bold; but it just managed to work. There is a massive amount of experimentation in this album despite how natural it seems, and it's something that makes itself known almost immediately without any further introductions needed.

Rocky phones in various features from Tyler, the Creator to Thundercat, it's an album that feels like an encapsulation of all of his prior eras while putting his newfound self at the front, with every sound feeling like something new, yet familiar for the New York rapper.