{"id":701376,"date":"2026-01-17T04:46:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T04:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/701376\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T04:46:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T04:46:17","slug":"dont-be-dumb-the-top-5-features-on-aap-rockys-new-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/701376\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Be Dumb: The top 5 features on A$AP Rocky\u2019s new album"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eight years since A$AP Rocky<\/a> released his last album, Testing, the Harlem rapper has had three children, faced multiple court cases, starred in not one but two A24 movies, and became the creative director of three brands: Puma x F1, Ray-Ban and his own label AWGE<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a busy guy, so it\u2019s no wonder it took the best part of a decade for him to release his fourth studio album, Don\u2019t Be Dumb, which finally landed today (January 16). The opening bar of the opening track (\u201cOrder of Protection\u201d) offers further insight into his hiatus: \u201cIt\u2019s been a lil\u2019 while since I been in the league \/ A couple lil\u2019 trials, couple of leaks\u201d he raps. To his frustration, over the past few years, his unreleased tracks have been leaked online on several occasions, meaning the album got pushed back time and time again. Today, he claims that 85 per cent of the album is brand new material, with only a couple of previously leaked demos included.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a return to oldschool A$AP Rocky, updated for the present day \u2013 as he told The New York Times, \u201cThis album is what 2011 Rocky would be making in 2026\u201d \u2013 and yet, it also exists within the world of Tim Burton. \u201cI\u2019ve always been inspired by Tim Burton \u2013 The Nightmare Before Christmas was my favourite movie growing up,\u201d he explained<\/a> on Instagram. The rapper enlisted the celebrated filmmaker to illustrate the album artwork and bring each of his alter egos to life, from Babushka Boi to Mr Mayers.<\/p>\n

Matching the chaos of Burton\u2019s world, it\u2019s an eclectic body of work that allows A$AP\u2019s various alter egos to shine through, encompassing a whole lot of genres (hip-hop, indie, R&B, jazz and metal) and a long list of features including Brent Faiyaz, Danny Elfman, Doechii,<\/a> Gorillaz<\/a>, Slay Squad, Thundercat, Tyler, The Creator<\/a>, Westside Gunn, and will.i.am. Unhelpfully, the artists featured aren\u2019t named on the tracklist, however, to make life a little easier for you, we breakdown our top five artist features on Don\u2019t Be Dumb. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

It\u2019d be safe to say that \u201cSTFU\u201d demands attention. Opening with the rapper\u2019s echoing voice telling us to \u201cshut the fuck up\u201d, the track quickly launches into a fast, aggressive beat, favoured by Californian heavy metal band, Slay Squad. Since forming a decade ago, the band has grown popular for inventing the genre \u201cghetto metal\u201d, which seeps into \u201cSTFU\u201d with verses from the band\u2019s vocalists Brahim Gousse and Keilo Kei. It may not be a relaxing song, but we\u2019re here for A$AP Rocky\u2019s hardcore journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Almost a decade ago, Tyler, The Creator<\/a> dropped \u201cWhat The Fuck Right Now\u201d<\/a>, a deep-cut fan favourite that never made it onto streaming. It opened with A$AP saying \u201cthey ain\u2019t ready for what we about to bring back \/ They ain\u2019t ready for Tyler with the green hat\u201d and features background adlibs from A$AP throughout the track. He later appeared in the DIY music video showing them in the studio, which marked the beginning of the duo as longtime collaborators. Now, the pair are back with a trippy, slightly restrained track that feels reminiscent of AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP. Closing out the album, \u201cFish N Steak (What It Is)\u201d also features what appears to be another mysterious third voice on the chorus, before ending with Tyler singing the outro. Nine years ago, A$AP and Tyler gave us \u201cPotato Salad\u201d; now they\u2019ve served us surf and turf, we can\u2019t say they\u2019re not dedicated to keeping us fed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

There have been rumours circulating that LA legend Thundercat was involved in this project for a few weeks. At the start of the month, it was confirmed when fans recognised his vocals on \u201cPunk Rocky\u201d. Last week, he appeared in A$AP\u2019s self-directed music video for the single alongside Winona Ryder, Danny Elfman and A$AP Nast. But it seems that track is not his only feature on the album. On track six, \u201cPlaya\u201d, Thundercat is credited as both a writer and background vocals. Sonically, the song feels like a nice reminder that even when he\u2019s experimenting with sounds we\u2019ve never heard from him before, A$AP can still deliver that Pretty Flocka flow that we know and love. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

As one of the standouts so far on the album, \u201cStay Here 4 Life\u201d opens with Brent Faiyaz\u2019s vocals singing \u201cLook at the sky \/ I wish that I could stay here for life\u201d. A soft landing before getting to some of the more hardcore songs on the project, it\u2019s reflective and makes some direct mentions to his relationship with Rihanna (\u201clet\u2019s mate and have a few kids \/ Truth is I just got struck by cupid, let\u2019s make this shit exclusive\u201d). Four minutes into the song, we get hit with a transcendental beat switch, and by the last minute, you feel like you\u2019ve listened to three different songs. Bonus points to Rocky for that \u201cMewtwo\u201d by Ken Carson sample, which is bound to make the song a fan favourite. Faiyaz\u2019s backing vocals also seem to appear again on the title track \u201cDon\u2019t Be Dumb\/Trip Baby\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Think Bonnie and Clyde but it\u2019s A$AP Rocky and Doechii rapping over smooth jazz. That\u2019s exactly what you get on \u201cRobbery\u201d, which, as one X user pointed out, \u201cfelt like I was inside an old 1930s bar\u2026 so it\u2019s a hit I fear\u201d. The soothing juxtaposition of this track acts as a tonic to the frenzy of those like \u201cAir Force (Black Demarco)\u201d and \u201cSTFU\u201d. Turns out, A$AP is a longtime jazz listener, previously citing the likes of Cab Calloway, Langston Hughes and Duke Ellington \u2013 who he samples on \u201cRobbery\u201d \u2013 as inspirations of his. As he recently explained:<\/a> \u201cI actually listen to jazz music when I work out, train in the gym and go on runs. I wanna see more young people get into jazz, real jazzy cat daddy swag.\u201d The track also delivers a call-and-response style flow between the two rappers, similar to Doechii\u2019s theatrical 2024 hit\u00a0 \u201cDenial Is a River\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n