A$AP Rocky has finally returned with his fourth studio album “Don’t Be Dumb,” more than seven years since his last album “TESTING.” Rocky is clearly aware of the time gap between releases and formulates the narrative and tone of the album around his return, admitting that it’s been a while since he’s “been in the league” at the very beginning of the record.
The album makes a loud statement, mixing genres including trap, experimental and R&B, plus plentiful features from renowned and upcoming artists alike. The overall sound can feel disjointed and derivative at times, which drags the project down. It seems that Rocky is relying on others to create a quality product instead of his own mastery of each piece.
Nevertheless, those pieces do end up cohering and aiding one another on select tracks like “STAY HERE 4 LIFE” and “FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS),” where the Brent Faiyaz and Tyler, The Creator’s respective features shine.
The album also features production from will.i.am, Danny Elfman, Mike Dean and Tyler, The Creator to name a few. This production leads to the aforementioned varied mix of genres. Several times, the featured vocals and production take over and override Rocky’s role on the album. For example, “FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS)” ends up sounding more like a Tyler, The Creator song featuring A$AP Rocky, but it’s a good song regardless.
In terms of Rocky on his own, a lot of his lyrics feel underdeveloped and meaningless, though the flows on most of these tracks are still interesting. It’s also worth mentioning that he is the producer of great instrumentals on the record, like “PUNK ROCKY” and “AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO).”
The track “WHISKEY (RELEASE ME)” starts slower and then picks up in the middle, as Damon Albarn provides backing vocals accompanied by the most definitive Westside Gunn adlibs you will ever hear.
“Don’t Be Dumb” is not a groundbreaking album. Some of it seems like Rocky is not fully committed to his vocals or lyrics and relies on the work of the big-name features, which undoubtedly enhance the album, but Rocky himself does not seem to be the reason for the best parts.
Rocky tries to cover a lot of bases with this record, in terms of the narrative and sound. Overall, the album didn’t produce any clear hits or any tracks that stand out even amongst some of the best tracks in his discography. “Don’t Be Dumb” didn’t surprise me, but it at least produced a few tracks I could see myself listening to every now and then, those being “STAY HERE 4 LIFE,” “PUNK ROCKY” and “FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS).”
