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Why is A$AP Rocky’s album one of the most anticipated records of 2026?
Slated for release on January 16th, 2026, Don’t Be Dumb will mark A$AP Rocky’s strong solo comeback, eight years after Testing. With a cover art by Tim Burton and persistent rumors of a feature with his partner Rihanna, the 37-year-old American rapper promises to offer a hybrid project, halfway between an album and a film. Here’s what we know so far…
A new record by A$AP, eight years after Testing
Born in 1988 in New York, American rapper Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, first took his stage name from the A$AP Mob collective (Always Strive And Prosper). He rose to fame in 2011 with the mixtape Live.Love.A$AP, confirmed his talent with Long.Live.A$AP (2013) and At.Long.Last.A$AP (2015), before releasing the acclaimed Testing (2018) with Frank Ocean and Kodak Black.
But eight years without releasing any record is an eternity in the rap industry. Since his third solo album, A$AP Rocky has been highly-demanded on other projects. He has become a true fashion icon and ventured into cinema. The artist recently appeared in Highest 2 Lowest (2025), directed by Spike Lee, in which he stars alongside Denzel Washington.
Appointed first creative director of Ray-Ban Studios and new ambassador for Chanel, A$AP Rocky was everywhere. And yet, this year, the American artist pulled out of the Rock en Seine music festival… Already absent from Barcelona’s Sónar festival in 2019 – he was taken into custody in Stockholm on July 3rd after a street altercation – the New York rapper now seems even more elusive than his music.
Don’t Be Dumb: An album slated for January 2026
A$AP Rocky’s long-awaited upcoming album, Don’t Be Dumb, will finally drop on January 16th, 2026, judging by the numbers “01162026” emblazoned on his sweatshirt during his November performance at Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw. The date also coincides with National Nothing Day, an un-event created by columnist Harold Pullman Coffin in 1972, as a tongue-in-cheek response to the proliferation of commemorative days. An ironic wink to the art of the teaser.
And yet, there has been some teasing since A$AP Rocky revealed his album cover art on Instagram. Designed by filmmaker Tim Burton, the image looks more like a movie poster than a conventional album cover. The caption even gives us a hint: “Make this movie.”
For several years now, the New York rapper has embraced a visual ambition he seems eager to infuse even more deeply into his music. According to early press reports, composer Danny Elfman – Tim Burton’s long-time collaborator, known for scoring Edward Scissorhands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – has worked on several tracks. In other words, this record seems to be shaped as the soundtrack to a life, somewhere between Hollywood symphony and twisted, jittery ostinatos, rather than a classic hip-hop album…
A track featuring Rihanna?
What we’ve heard so far has come in fragments. In 2024, the unexpected track Highjack, featuring folk singer Jessica Pratt, stood out as a clear hint. A collaboration off the beaten track, almost anti-rap, that steered the artist toward a different universe than fans might have anticipated. Last year, we also discovered Tailor Swif (2024), a wild video shot in Kyiv, Ukraine, shortly before the Russian invasion.
Taken together, these pieces suggest a larger picture. Don’t Be Dumb may not mark A$AP Rocky’s return to rap, but the first step of a more ambitious project… Probably one containing multiple parts made with several media. As Rihanna showed her support by commenting on her husband’s post when the album cover was revealed, social media went into a frenzy. Could she appear on this new record? We certainly hope so.
Don’t Be Dumb by A$AP Rocky, coming out on January 16th, 2026.
