A$AP Rocky's "Don't Be Dumb" Receives Healthy First-Week Sales Projections

BY Zachary Horvath
Link Copied to Clipboard!
A$AP Rocky & Tim Burton "Don't Be Dumb" Album Release Party
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 15: A$AP Rocky attends A$AP Rocky & Tim Burton "Don't Be Dumb" Album Release Party on January 15, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
Add HNHH as a preferred source on Google
A$AP Rocky was reportedly already off to a great start sales wise for "Don't Be Dumb" and these early projections all but confirm that.

A$AP Rocky has some great news to kick off his week. Heading into next Tuesday's Billboard Hot 200 update, Don't Be Dumb is very likely to top the chart. That's because per Chart Predictions, his fourth studio album is projected to move at least 200,000 units.

Their breakdown says that 70-90K of that total is stream equivalent or SEA, and 100K are physical. That latter statistic seemingly is taking into account a previous report. On Saturday, a press release reported that Rocky had already sold 130,000 copies thanks to the variety of offered vinyl prior to release day on January 16.

But with the 100,000+ purportedly translating to the 130,000 figure and the floor for digital being 70,000, Rocky is surely going to blow his other debuts out of the water. Per Hip Hop All Day, the Harlem native's best first sales week was for 2015's AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP.

The fan-favorite project did a still respectable 146,000 units. For more context, 2013's LONG.LIVE.A$AP is right behind its sequel, selling 139K. TESTING currently sits in third place with 75,000, and his introductory LP, 2011's LIVE.LOVE.A$AP pushed 15,000 copies.

For Don't Be Dumb to basically take first place in this case is impressive, though. This project has been years in the making and is only his first in nearly eight years.

Thanks to the constant delays and reported low demand up until the last couple of months, Rocky seemed destined for a mediocre comeback.

But he defied all of that and now, he's setting the bar pretty high for rap in 2026 from a sales perspective. However, the quality on Don't Be Dumb is certainly there, despite what some Drake or Doechii detractors will tell you.

The 17-track project is diverse in every sense. From the rapid-fire changes from song-to-song production wise to the features, it's a Rocky project to a tee but still one of his most focused.

Speaking of those guests, there are a lot and they don't disappoint. Brent Faiyaz or Doechii seem to have be the consensus for the best ones. They deliver magic on their respective tracks, with the former landing on "STAY HERE 4 LIFE" and the latter appearing on "ROBBERY."

But the greatness continues thanks to Sauce Walka on "STOP SNITCHING" or Tyler, The Creator on "FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS)." If you want the full breakdown of who's where, check out our article here.

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.

Comments 1