★★★⯪☆

After an eight-year-long hiatus, A$AP Rocky returns with an emphatic fourth effort. After the mixed reception that was ‘Testing’, ‘Don’t Be Dumb’ experiments just as much as his prior effort, and I’m still unsure whether that’s a good thing. 

This feels thrown together, yet oddly structured. ‘Testing’was messy and incohesive, jumping through a lot of different sounds with not many of them fully sticking. With this most recent effort, though, it at least feels cohesive. The synth choices help the album flow more smoothly. That said, it’s still hectic and occasionally feels all over the place.

Starting his career off by pioneering the cloud-rap sub-genre, Rocky now operates primarily as a trap rapper with heavy New York influence. However, this album still shows glimpses of that hazy, atmospheric sound of old. Songs such as ‘PUNK ROCKY’ and ‘DON’T BE DUMB/TRIP BABY’ really made me feel like I was listening to ‘At.Long.Last.A$AP’ for the first time again. Using aerated drums and psychedelic synths to give a comfortingly dark vibe, perfect for a late-night drive.

Rocky has fully leaned into this braggadocious, shit-stirring attitude that he’s developed since the release of ‘Testing’. The heavy bass, the electric flows, the explosive delivery, it all makes for some of his most captivating music. These are the types of tracks that shine the most on this record. Rocky’s energetic delivery and rapid-fire flow make all of these tracks such a fun experience. Tracks like ‘NO TRESSPASSING’, ‘STOP SNITCHING’, and ‘HELICOPTER’ are some of my favourite Rocky songs in a long time. The mix of booming 808s and hypnotic synths makes these tracks not only just a lot of fun, but musically very creative and engaging. 

Speaking of creative and engaging, potentially the best track on this entire album is the song that strays furthest away from the rest of the record’s soundscape. ‘ROBBERY’ features Florida rapper Doechii, in which they use the scenario of a robbery as a metaphor for being in control in a relationship. It has a jazzy instrumental, paired with slick flows and unconventional vocal stims, making for a stunning song despite the change of tone.

There is a whole lot of high-quality music on this record, but unfortunately, it’s bloated by a lot of sub-par material. The album opens and closes quite poorly. The opener ‘ORDER OF PROTECTION’ is made out to be this huge moment to open the album by the magnitude of the production, but it falls flat due to Rocky’s lackluster delivery and stagnant flow. The final three tracks also aren’t anything special. ‘FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS)’ is a fine song, featuring a catchy hook from Don Toliver and a good verse from Tyler, The Creator. However, it doesn’t have the lasting impact that album closers should have.

Rocky has one of the best flows in all of hip-hop, but this album does not showcase that. It’s become a staple for each Rocky verse to include one or two seamless flow changes, but there are almost none on this album. He mostly sticks to one or two standard flows for each verse, which is a huge disappointment. Not bad at all, just a huge disappointment.

There are also times he plays off influences a little too hard. Particularly on the tracks ‘STFU’ and ‘AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)’, which graduate from the Playboi Carti school of hectic synths and excessive soundbites. The only difference is that Carti makes them sound endearing, whilst Rocky makes them sound tacky. Then also on the opener’s hook, Rocky puts this Travis Scott-type of autotune over his vocals, which sounds just a little too similar. 

After all these criticisms, is the album bad? Not at all! Is it Rocky’s best work? Certainly not. It pales in comparison to his first three projects. But it is probably his most exciting and energetic record. With that being said, was this album worth the almost eight-year-long wait? Definitely not. It’s great that the album highlights the explosive side of Rocky’s musical ability, but it’s just too messy to ever be worth this long of a hiatus.