This post was updated Jan. 17 at 5:45 p.m.

At long last, A$AP Rocky delivers unequivocal greatness with “Don’t Be Dumb.”

Marking his fourth studio album, the 37-year-old hip-hop artist intuitively blends trap and R&B with jazz, indie rock and industrial styles across fifteen tracks, delivering a tight narrative with room for two more songs following the main tracklist. The work stands as his first major project since 2018’s “TESTING” and delves into his recently concluded court trials, defends several aspects of his reputation and defines the true meaning of love.

Following multiple false starts and four promising singles that ended up being left off the record altogether, fans started to lose hope in the rollout. Miraculously, however, Rocky was able to pick up where he left off with the successive releases of “PUNK ROCKY” and “HELICOPTER,” while also announcing Tim Burton’s involvement with the project’s creative direction.

Sonically, the album is his most inventive to date. Rocky oscillates between a cloudy, ethereal yearning on tracks like “STAY HERE 4 LIFE” and “WHISKEY (RELEASE ME)” and tangible resonances of anger on “STFU” and “AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO).” While each song feels like its own world, the album still manages to feel like a cohesive body of work. This is thanks to its carefully calculated sequencing, which takes the listener on a worthwhile journey.

Living up to its cinematic expectations, the album can be split up into three five-song acts. The first few tracks set the scene: rain, marching drums and a bombastic production. “HELICOPTER” sees Rocky trying to make a statement with his usual infectious flow: “When tennis shoes had the check or three stripes on the side / Way before Puma cut the check, yeah, three strikes, that’s your life.” And he uses the various skits throughout the record to express his true feelings regarding the conversations about himself in the media, affirming “The buzz is about me / They talk about me” on “INTERROGATION (SKIT).” Following this, though left to the listener’s imagination, “STOLE YA FLOW” is a diss track speculated to be directed toward Drake, with lyrics like “still in his feelings” that seem to be a nod to the Canadian rapper, among clearer examples.

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In the next two tracks, “STAY HERE 4 LIFE” and “PLAYA,” Rocky reminisces on his current relationship. The first track exudes a feeling of contentment and an awareness of time’s fleeting nature, expressed through the heavenly refrain, “I wish that I could stay here for life,” delivered by the track’s collaborator, Brent Faiyaz. Transitioning into the second act with “PLAYA,” he confronts the impermanence of the player persona, redefining his conception of what it means to be one: “Takin’ care of your kids, boy, that’s player shit / One bitch, boy, that’s player shit / No baby mama drama, no new friends, boy, that’s player shit.” Rocky creates new tenets by which he’s defining the player lifestyle: to be selfless and put others before oneself.

The next two-track run, “NO TRESPASSING” and “STOP SNITCHING,” sees him switching gears in terms of subject matter. The former has unbelievable production: wet bass, satisfying snares and paranoid synths, taking listeners into this act’s setting with a much more defensive tone than the previous tracks. Whereas before he was speaking from a place of solitude, he’s now confronted with an overwhelming feeling of oppression. The latter track seems to address his recent trial with lines such as, “How could you snitch on your brother when that was the person that’s keepin’ your rent paid?” expressing betrayal.

But he turns this frustration away from his former friend toward the system with “STFU.” The track is a standout on the record and a significant departure from his usual sound. Inspired by a mix of industrial, UK garage and heavy metal, he turns to these genres to deliver his message but eventually loses sight of what’s important. “Is there heaven for a pig? … Ayy, fuck stickin’ to the plan / I’m tryna stick it to the man.”

“PUNK ROCKY,” another unique genre blend for the Harlem rapper, details an ironic cycle of heartbreak. In a seeming departure from reality, his partner leaves him for another, only to fall into the same circumstance as Rocky: “You thought you fell in love, you thought he felt it too / I told her, ‘Don’t be dumb,’ you just another fool.” The song feels much more at home in the context of the album, showing how his anger with the system has pushed love away from him.

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The third act of the album sees everything coming together. “AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)” shows a post-break-up Rocky indulging in negativity, repeatedly interrupted and dumbfounded by the dreamy Mac DeMarco-like refrain when he runs into his ex. In a drunken euphoria, the two unite with each other on “WHISKEY (RELEASE ME),” a song that feels both laid back and danceable all at once.

The next track, “ROBBERY,” is another standout. In a sultry, classy jazz dialogue, Rocky unites with the Grammy award-winning Doechii, who acts as a stand-in for Rocky’s lover on an interpolation of Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington’s “Caravan.” In the track, both artists have stolen each other’s hearts and are finally ready to take on the world together.

Rocky channels orange in a Frank Ocean-esque declaration of love on the title track before leading into the final song of the narrative, “THE END,” where he turns the album outward. He details people being expected to keep calm while bombs are in the hands of the wicked, the police oppressing working-class communities and even the religious losing hope for any solution besides salvation. In a concluding message, he implores his audience not to be dumb in every way he’s been in the story. He asks listeners to speak up when necessary, to love and cherish the ones closest to them and to not be led astray from what truly matters in life. The two bonus tracks act as an epilogue and credit sequence to the story, finding the perfect balance between extravagance and passion.

After an almost decade-long wait, the album exceeds its monumental expectations, cementing Rocky’s everlasting commitment to always strive and prosper.