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A$AP Rocky performs onstage at The BBC Radio 1’s Big weekend on May 26, 2013 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland
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Key Takeaways:
- A$AP Rocky’s long-delayed album Don’t Be Dumb is set for release this year.
- Danny Elfman, known for scoring films including 1988’s Beetlejuice and Men in Black contributed to the album’s production.
- The project continues Rocky’s string of genre-crossing collaborations.
A$AP Rocky continues to tease fans about his highly anticipated album, Don’t Be Dumb. In yet another interview, the Harlem rapper asserted that it will be released in 2025; however, he didn’t specify an exact release date.
In a sit down with Vanity Fair — which included Callum Turner, LaKeith Stanfield and Glen Powell — published on Tuesday (Nov. 18), Pretty Flacko shared an update on the new project. “Fun fact … [Danny Elfman] just did my album with me that I’m putting out this year,” Rocky said. “He scored a bunch of the songs on my new album.”
Interestingly, Powell was notably excited upon hearing the news, exclaiming, “No way… that’s sick!” in the clip. Elfman, who was the lead singer and songwriter of rock band Oingo Boingo, has scored and composed music for a legion of classic films that include 1988’s Beetlejuice, Men in Black and Notorious. Rocky has collaborated with musicians outside the realm of Hip Hop before, including Skrillex, Rod Stewart and Moby.
It’s worth noting that the “Fashion Killa” artist’s newest reveal sounds like a reversal from his most recent comments about the forthcoming album. In late October, he said he wasn’t “eager” to release the project because he didn’t want to rush it. A few weeks prior to that statement, he told another outlet that he regretted ever sharing a release date.
Originally, Don’t Be Dumb was supposed to be released on Aug. 30, 2024. However, just before that date, it was postponed to sometime in the fall of 2024, and it’s been repeatedly getting pushed back since — without an official drop date, either.
Nevertheless, he has discussed his new music. In July 2025, he told Apple Music that he’s matured — so don’t expect bars about womanizing or how pretty he is. But he will still rap about fashion, though.
It’s not like the rapper has just been wasting time. Rocky has been acting in Spike Lee films, raising three kids with Rihanna and holding down creative director gigs with Ray Ban and Puma. The guy is busy.