A$AP Rocky Reveals What "Don't Be Dumb" Will Sound Like

BY Zachary Horvath 435 Views
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2025 CFDA Awards - Winner's Walk
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 03: Fashion Icon Award winner A$AP Rocky attends the 2025 CFDA Awards at The American Museum of Natural History on November 03, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
A$AP Rocky rose to popularity for his engaging album experiences and it sounds like "Don't Be Dumb" will be just that and then some.

In 2018, A$AP Rocky put out his most diverse and risky album to date with TESTING. It certainly lived up to its title and a result; it's his most divisive body of work. Some praise its randomness, while others believe it lacks cohesion.

For those who aren't huge fans of Rocky doing this much experimenting, we have some unfortunate news for you. Details of what Don't Be Dumb will sound like have surfaced and once again, the Harlem native will be trying out different genres and subgenres.

"The 15 track, 2LP vinyl moves through genres the way you'd move through a cityJazz, Hip-Hop, Metal, Indie, R&Beach track capturing a different block, mood, or moment. It's Rocky in full range."

This album description comes via Bilt, a loyalty program based in NYC that gives its members incentives for handling their rent and HOA payments on time.

A$AP Rocky partnered with the hometown company to drop an exclusive vinyl for Don't Be Dumb. It features unique artwork that embodies the spirit of New York. If you are interested click this link.

This partnership isn't random though. The artist has been supporting Bilt since their inception and was excited to be working alongside them for this album rollout. He also spoke on them making a generous rent donation to the tenants living in his building that will cover their 2026 payments.

"For me, it’s always been about your community and neighborhood. Harlem made me who I am, from uptown to downtown, and that connection to place is everything. When Bilt said they wanted to cover rent for everyone in the same building where I grew up, that hit different. That’s not just business, that’s understanding what community really means."

He continued, "This vinyl is my love letter to New York, and being able to give back to the exact place that raised me while helping people across the country with their rent is the kind of partnership that actually matters."

All in all, this a very cool update and one that also brings excitement to Rocky's long-awaited return. Speaking of which, it will officially commence on January 16. Don't Be Dumb will officially be 17 tracks long, the last two being on a side B.

Song titles and features have yet to be revealed as of yet. However, in terms of the latter, there are quite a few rumored ones out there. Some are Rihanna, Westside Gunn, J. Cole, Jessica Pratt, KayCyy, and Damon Albarn of Gorillaz.

About The Author
Zachary Horvath is one of the Music Freelance News Writers at HotNewHipHop and has held that title since August 2023. Prior to this position, he held another freelance gig covering local high school football, girls and boys varsity basketball, in addition to recapping Cleveland Cavaliers games remotely. He's taken the previous experience and used it to become a jack of all trades at HotNewHipHop. Zach has thoroughly enjoyed tackling some of the trending topics in sports, with a larger focus on hip-hop and pop culture. Some of those include Bronny James's draft stock, a multitude of angles swirling around the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, as well as Diddy's arrest and lawsuits. Separate from the headlines that everyone wants to hear about, he was fortunate enough to help spread Zaytoven's current thoughts at the time around mid-December in 2023. Even though being able to give his expertise on these stories is fulfilling, being able to share his passion for releases trumps that ever so slightly. Having the chance to express his excitement indirectly about what he thinks our readers should be checking out/revisiting grows his passion for writing that much more.

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