Courtesy of RCA Records
Released on Jan. 16, A$AP Rocky’s new album “Don’t Be Dumb” comes after an eight-year hiatus following his 2018 album “testing”. During that time, the Harlem-born rapper has focused on his modeling career and released singles.
Before this album, Rocky leaned into surreal, experimental music, with songs like “Hun43rd” and “Fashion Killa” garnering widespread praise. “HELICOPTER”, the lead single, signaled a different musical direction, however. Featuring catchy lyrics and an aggressive, high-energy beat, the song showcases his shift to a more dynamic style, where he has usually erred on the side of trap.
“I was really nervous because [it’s] so different from everything else that we’ve seen with him,” said senior Julian Koop. “‘HELICOPTER’ being the first song he released [seemed] intentional on his part to prepare us for something … that branched out from what Rocky has kind of become known for — that … gritty, partially psychedelic [tone].”
Even the album cover is a contrast from previous album covers, featuring art from renowned animator Tim Burton. Rocky, whose album covers usually feature a photo of his face in grayscale, seems to be preparing fans for a new direction.
“ORDER OF PROTECTION” opens the album, intended to grab the listener’s attention through its ominous intro. Although it matches the energy of most of the other songs, the music is not noteworthy; it falls flat and simply isn’t meaningful.
“STOLE YA FLOW” is arguably the most discussed track from the album, circulating across Instagram immediately after the album’s release — and rightfully so. The song begins with a diss aimed at Drake, as A$AP raps, “First you stole my flow, so I stole yo’ [b—-],” a reference to Rihanna’s fling with Drake in 2009. The track has confidence, swagger and is hard-hitting, reminding listeners that Rocky is unafraid to assert himself. Later in the song, he references Drake’s alleged history of plastic surgery — that Drake is getting a Brazilian butt lift, but “luckily we ain’t body-shame”.
“Everyone loves rap beef,” Koop said. “[The music he produces] has definitely become a lot more personalized to Rocky himself, rather than [the hip-hop collective] A$AP Mob.”
“STAY HERE 4 LIFE” is an indisputable highlight on the album, and Rocky captures his long absence while maintaining his playful melodies, featuring Brent Faiyaz; “Ain’t no dials on the clock, got me lookin’ down at my watch / Wish I could buy time back right now,” he says. The track is melodic, introspective and compelling. It ends with a skit that fades into “PLAYA,” although the transition diminishes the song’s impact.
“[A lot of the album] was all over the place, in a good way though,” said junior Avi Tripathi. “When [Rocky] said in an interview that he was going to be experimental, he was … serious.”
Now at track six out of 17, going into “PLAYA” is underwhelming. After the catchy production and rhythm of “STOLE YA FLOW” and “STAY HERE 4 LIFE”, “PLAYA” lacks the focus and brilliance of its formers. Its around 30-second-intro was excessive, a characteristic I found consistent with the other songs, and it failed to stand out as an individual track.
“ROBBERY” has garnered largely negative reviews and misses the mark entirely of being a play-worthy song. The song starts with Rocky’s usual swagger, rapping about luxury, power and romance through lyrics like “Got it out the mud, whipped it out the bowl / Drop it on the scales to sell it down the road,” showcasing his confident flow. However, the track is utterly annihilated by Doechii’s terrible feature. Her verse feels out of place, and her forced, provocative voice disrupts the rhythm of the flow, sounding grating rather than complementary.
“It was trauma,” Koop said. “She’s just doing too much.”
The breathy vocals she used were over-the-top, and what could have been a solid Rocky track ends up frustrating. While much of the song’s criticism seems to be forced hate for Doechii, for me, the feature ended up derailing the song and direction I would’ve liked to see.
Nearing “THE END” of the album, Rocky features Jessica Pratt and attempts to tackle heavy topics such as screen addiction, school shootings and global warming. The song features a whopping 50-second outro.
“A lot of his [new] songs are … too long for my liking,” Koop said. “He’s trying to incorporate more skits now … and that’s cool, but when you’re listening to a song, you don’t want to just hear [that]. My attention span is cooked as is.”
In addition to this, the song just doesn’t land. The track’s somber tone and vocals feel overblown, and the lyrics, while meant to be reflective, come across as a pseudo-philosophical attempt at seeming socially conscious.
Lines such as “ain’t plantin’ trees no more” feel forced, and the pacing drags. While it was meant to be a powerful conclusion to Disc. 1, “THE END” is one of the album’s low points. But it’s worth mentioning that while the album concludes on a low note, it wasn’t without its merits.
Given the long waiting time and the lack of many catchy, playworthy songs throughout the album, I felt that the album also reflects a broader trend in rap as a whole: experimentation has slowed, not necessarily because artists lack creativity, but because the genre has exhausted the many possibilities available for rap in the past decade. Albums like Don Toliver’s “Octane” and Travis Scott’s “Utopia” that are held to a higher standard are difficult to meet today. I rate the album a three and a half stars out of five.
