The run of A$AP Rocky and what he’s accomplished.
A$AP Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, just released an album titled “Don’t Be Dumb” including 17 songs and two discs. It was dropped on January 16th at midnight after he had not released an album since 2018. Fans have been anticipating the return of A$AP and for him to add to the hip-hop community. A$AP has been noticed to have growth from his other albums as an artist and other accomplishments like his sunglasses line, fashion influences, and several awards.
He is well known for his sunglasses line collaborating with Ray-Bans involving streetwear fashion with sunglasses styles. He has three popular collections of the “Blacked Out” collection, “The Next Generation” collection, and the “Wayfarer Puffer” collection. He began this with his love for fashion and stylish clothing choices and wanted to extend it to something unique. He earned accolades like the 2025 CFDA Fashion Icon Award, Cultural Innovator Award, and Creative Director roles for Puma F1, co-founding VLONE, acting in multiple films, and influencing streetwear and recent high fashion. He received a grammy nomination for his music video on his song “L$D” and is well known for his music collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, Selena Gomez, and Lana Del Rey, and is known for his brand collaboration with Dior, Calvin Klein, and Gucci.
The new album released, “Don’t Be Dumb”, relates a lot to his adulting life of fatherhood, him as a public figure, loyalty, maturity, and how he handled his fame. His new album includes an extremely diverse mix of hip-hop, jazz, R&B, indie rock, and even metal. He shares his experiences over time, maturing his behavior and shaping who he is today. He talks about how his perspective has changed with time as he got older and he views things differently, especially now being a father figure. In his song “Stay Here 4 Life” featuring Brent Faiyaz, he says “Wish I could buy time back right now (I wish that I could stay here)” meaning time is flying and he’s getting older and shouldn’t take time for granted.
Some fans are saying that the album is “album of the year” and are extremely excited after waiting 8 years for an album. The diversity of music types features many different singers and room to experiment with different music styles. One fan wrote under the NFR Podcast Instagram post “I’m very impressed, I don’t think its near Rocky’s best work but I still think he cooked with this one, so IMO I say he went 15/17.” While some fans were showing total appreciation for his new album, others said that it did not meet up to their expectations after such a long wait. Fans commented that he didn’t do as well on this album, that A$AP was “washed,” and that it was “all over the place.”
Whether or not the listener thinks the album is good or not, A$AP has clearly matured and evolved since his last release based on his lyrics. He is still evolving as a person and artist with limitless opportunity for growth. His personal experiences strengthen his music relativity and add onto his already creative music style. A$AP shows that even though he was gone a while, he can make a comeback and continue to better himself and his music from here on.