Don't Be Dumb
Donât Be Dumb is the fourth studio album from New York rapper and creative visionary A$AP Rocky, arriving eight years after his genre-flipping and experimental 2018 full-length Testing. A$AP Rockyâs contributions to rap in the early 2010s helped shift the genre on the whole, bringing cloud rap production touches to club-ready anthems for sounds that were exciting and at times unprecedented. Rocky continues his tendency for searching throughout Donât Be Dumb, bouncing quickly from heavy trap and rage rap tracks to styles that seem wildly unconventional on a rap record.
His lyrical prowess is as strong as ever, with clever wordplay and ample charisma on the slow-moving, bass-heavy thickness of âHelicopterâ and the distorted rage production of âStole Ya Flow.â Rocky veers into new territory as often as he offers up conventional rap songs on Donât Be Dumb. The most striking examples of this are out-of-nowhere left turns like the jazzy, Doechii-featuring âRobbery,â the distorted synth attack and melodramatic beat switch into cinematic soul on âAir Force (Black Demarco),â and âPunk Rocky,â a song which doesnât resemble classic punk rock as much as it does the reverb-heavy indie sounds of the Captured Tracks roster circa 2011. The album also includes cameos from Gorillaz, Brent Faiyaz, Jessica Pratt, and Tyler, The Creator, with tracks that value exploration and expression and deliver hooks that defy expectations.
While this kind of creative abandon is standard for A$AP Rocky, Donât Be Dumb is a more cohesive collection than the chaotic and often-confused Testing. The weird detours and stylistic wanderlust result in an album that somehow makes a lot of sense as a larger statement, with all the dissimilar sounds contributing to a listening experience that demands attention and doesnât let go once it takes hold.
Tracklist
ORDER OF PROTECTION
HELICOPTER
INTERROGATION (SKIT)
STOLE YA FLOW
STAY HERE 4 LIFE
PLAYA
NO TRESPASSING
STOP SNITCHING
STFU
PUNK ROCKY
AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)
WHISKEY (RELEASE ME)
ROBBERY
DONâT BE DUMB / TRIP BABY
THE END
Donât Be Dumb is the fourth studio album from New York rapper and creative visionary A$AP Rocky, arriving eight years after his genre-flipping and experimental 2018 full-length Testing. A$AP Rockyâs contributions to rap in the early 2010s helped shift the genre on the whole, bringing cloud rap production touches to club-ready anthems for sounds that were exciting and at times unprecedented. Rocky continues his tendency for searching throughout Donât Be Dumb, bouncing quickly from heavy trap and rage rap tracks to styles that seem wildly unconventional on a rap record.
His lyrical prowess is as strong as ever, with clever wordplay and ample charisma on the slow-moving, bass-heavy thickness of âHelicopterâ and the distorted rage production of âStole Ya Flow.â Rocky veers into new territory as often as he offers up conventional rap songs on Donât Be Dumb. The most striking examples of this are out-of-nowhere left turns like the jazzy, Doechii-featuring âRobbery,â the distorted synth attack and melodramatic beat switch into cinematic soul on âAir Force (Black Demarco),â and âPunk Rocky,â a song which doesnât resemble classic punk rock as much as it does the reverb-heavy indie sounds of the Captured Tracks roster circa 2011. The album also includes cameos from Gorillaz, Brent Faiyaz, Jessica Pratt, and Tyler, The Creator, with tracks that value exploration and expression and deliver hooks that defy expectations.
While this kind of creative abandon is standard for A$AP Rocky, Donât Be Dumb is a more cohesive collection than the chaotic and often-confused Testing. The weird detours and stylistic wanderlust result in an album that somehow makes a lot of sense as a larger statement, with all the dissimilar sounds contributing to a listening experience that demands attention and doesnât let go once it takes hold.
Tracklist
ORDER OF PROTECTION
HELICOPTER
INTERROGATION (SKIT)
STOLE YA FLOW
STAY HERE 4 LIFE
PLAYA
NO TRESPASSING
STOP SNITCHING
STFU
PUNK ROCKY
AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)
WHISKEY (RELEASE ME)
ROBBERY
DONâT BE DUMB / TRIP BABY
THE END
Description
Donât Be Dumb is the fourth studio album from New York rapper and creative visionary A$AP Rocky, arriving eight years after his genre-flipping and experimental 2018 full-length Testing. A$AP Rockyâs contributions to rap in the early 2010s helped shift the genre on the whole, bringing cloud rap production touches to club-ready anthems for sounds that were exciting and at times unprecedented. Rocky continues his tendency for searching throughout Donât Be Dumb, bouncing quickly from heavy trap and rage rap tracks to styles that seem wildly unconventional on a rap record.
His lyrical prowess is as strong as ever, with clever wordplay and ample charisma on the slow-moving, bass-heavy thickness of âHelicopterâ and the distorted rage production of âStole Ya Flow.â Rocky veers into new territory as often as he offers up conventional rap songs on Donât Be Dumb. The most striking examples of this are out-of-nowhere left turns like the jazzy, Doechii-featuring âRobbery,â the distorted synth attack and melodramatic beat switch into cinematic soul on âAir Force (Black Demarco),â and âPunk Rocky,â a song which doesnât resemble classic punk rock as much as it does the reverb-heavy indie sounds of the Captured Tracks roster circa 2011. The album also includes cameos from Gorillaz, Brent Faiyaz, Jessica Pratt, and Tyler, The Creator, with tracks that value exploration and expression and deliver hooks that defy expectations.
While this kind of creative abandon is standard for A$AP Rocky, Donât Be Dumb is a more cohesive collection than the chaotic and often-confused Testing. The weird detours and stylistic wanderlust result in an album that somehow makes a lot of sense as a larger statement, with all the dissimilar sounds contributing to a listening experience that demands attention and doesnât let go once it takes hold.
Tracklist
ORDER OF PROTECTION
HELICOPTER
INTERROGATION (SKIT)
STOLE YA FLOW
STAY HERE 4 LIFE
PLAYA
NO TRESPASSING
STOP SNITCHING
STFU
PUNK ROCKY
AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)
WHISKEY (RELEASE ME)
ROBBERY
DONâT BE DUMB / TRIP BABY
THE END
