Hip-hop star A$AP Rocky is now grown-up and settled down

In the time since A$AP Rocky released his last album, Testing, in 2018, he has acted in two Hollywood movies, became romantic partners and a father of three with Rihanna, faced two criminal prosecutions and seen dozens of his unfinished songs let loose onto the internet by leakers.

- Joe Coscarelli and Jon Caramanica

A$AP Rocky and Rihanna at the Gotham Film Awards on Dec 1, 2025, in New York City. Photo: AFP

(AFP)

It has been a sometimes agonising, sometimes thrilling stretch of time defined by upheaval, and it sometimes seemed like Rocky might never put out an album again.

"I never accepted that," he said on Popcast, The New York Times' pop culture show, in an interview in January. "That's my core. I consider myself a Renaissance man, so it starts with music."

His fourth album Don't Be Dumb, released on Jan 9, is a return to some of his familiar musical influences, with Gothic takes on Southern rap styles (Playa, Helicopter) and experimental production that dabbles in cloudy abstraction and psychedelic rock (Punk Rocky).

Typical of the American rapper's preferred eclecticism, the album features appearances by rappers such as Doechii and Tyler, The Creator, alongside vocals from folk singer Jessica Pratt and Damon Albarn.

"I think this album is what 2011 Rocky would be making in 2026," he said.

In a wide-ranging conversation, the 37-year-old discussed how he has grappled with the effects of his legal entanglements — the alleged shooting of a former close friend, for which he was acquitted in Los Angeles in 2025; and an assault conviction for a street fight in Sweden in 2019, for which he served no additional jail time.