A$AP Rocky appears to announce release date for ‘Don’t Be Dumb’
A$AP Rocky has seemingly announced the release date for his long-awaited new album, Don’t Be Dumb.
The Harlem rapper hasn’t released a project in seven years following 2018’s Testing album, but it appears that the follow-up is coming soon.
Rocky closed out Tyler, The Creator‘s Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles on November 23rd, wearing a white hoodie with numbers on the sleeve.
The numbers read “01162026,” with many fans believing it translates to the release date for his album being January 16th, 2026.
Despite the potential release date, Rocky trolled fans at the festival by selling a hoodie that read “ALBUM NEVER DROPPING” across the front, costing $150.
Don’t Be Dumb has been delayed for a while, prompting the rapper to joke that the project might never come out at all.
During a recent conversation with actors Glen Powell, LaKeith Stanfield, and Callum Turner for Vanity Fair, Rocky revealed he worked on the album with film composer Danny Elfman.
Elfman was a member of the band Oingo Boingo and has scored movies such as Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and Beetlejuice.
“Fun fact… Danny Elfman, he just did my album with me that I’m putting out this year,” Rocky said. “He scored a bunch of the songs. We had [The Nightmare Before Christmas] on mute and were just making music to all of the old films – Pee-wee’s Playhouse and The Simpsons and all that.”
Elfman praised Rocky in an Instagram post, writing, “Working with @asaprocky was a great experience. Just hanging out and listening to his new tracks… He’s an amazingly creative artist and I was really impressed with how diverse his influences and inspirations were. He’s truly a one-of-a-kind.”