A$AP Rocky on ‘Don’t Be Dumb’ Grammy Aspirations & Signing Playboi Carti: ‘Whole Industry Sounds Like an Artist That Derived From My Nest’
A$AP Rocky doesn’t shy away from growth; he acknowledges it.
Nearly eight years passed between 2018’s TESTING and the arrival of the much-delayed Don’t Be Dumb , an eternity in rapper terms.
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Released in January, Don’t Be Dumb topped the Billboard 200, which marked a triumph, and his first No.
1 album in over a decade.
“It’s mind-boggling that after all these years, I still got this much influence on the culture, and I’m still doing this same thing that I love to do — but even at a higher level,” Rocky tells Billboard with a hoarse voice after wrapping up his European tour in Greece two nights prior.
“People like to pretend that they all buttoned up and figured [it] out.
Nah, man, I still got some growing to do, even this late in my career.” With the first round of voting from the Recording Academy underway, the Harlem native has his sights set on winning his first Grammy Award , after coming up empty in three previous nominations.
“I think it would solidify everything that I worked hard for,” the 38-year-old says.
“I worked so hard on this, and I intentionally wanted to win one.” Rocky still has one more promise to deliver on, releasing his long-awaited Disc 2 .
He’s kicking off the rollout for the deluxe edition on Friday (Oct.
16) with the streaming arrival of “Mushroom Clouds,” which the A$AP Mob frontman premiered live at a 420 Weedmaps show in 2021 and performed as part of his Amazon Music Live set in 2022.
“I’ma keep my promises this time,” he vows.
“I just had to do these tours and give the people what they want.
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