ASAP Rocky Fans Are In Shambles After “Don’t Be Dumb” Vinyl Pre-Orders Reportedly Get Refunded

ASAP Rocky is driving fans crazy with the long wait for his new album Don’t Be Dumb. Despite a couple of singles, announcements, press runs, and promises, the album seems no closer to landing on our doorstep. What’s more is that recent reports have his die-hards losing even more hope, relegating the project to its mythical status once more after fans actually thought it would drop this year. According to Dro, @99Vinyl_ on Twitter, the Harlem rapper and his team began to send out refunds to people who pre-ordered the LP on vinyl, seemingly serving as a nail in the coffin that places it back in limbo.

Of course, fans reacted in all sorts of ways to this, whether that was joking about their desperation, scathingly criticizing this rollout, clowning folks for believing in Don’t Be Dumb in the first place, or bringing up other narratives such as the rap beef with Drake as another jab. Take this with a grain of salt, though, as A$AP Rocky could definitely change this narrative by announcing it with a short wait time-span or just releasing it out of the blue.

ASAP Rocky Don’t Be Dumb Vinyl Pre-Orders Reportedly Refunded

As for why these vinyl pre-orders resulted in refunds, A$AP Rocky probably had to delay the album once more, which could be for a whole host of different reasons. Perhaps it’s due to sample clearance issues, volatile and shifting label release schedules, waiting for other rollout elements like live performances and press opportunities to roll around… Who knows? Also, another big factor to consider is his alleged assault case over the shooting of A$AP Relli, which definitely made him pretty busy and understandably focused on that to some degree. But there’s no telling at press time whether that impacted Don’t Be Dumb, an album whose title ironically and sadly reflects what a lot of people are saying to his fans about believing in its release.

Meanwhile, for other fans, teasing an album and never following it up is a family tradition. A$AP Rocky’s boo Rihanna is in the same boat with fans, and they most likely know this. Maybe everything would be water under the bridge if they definitively unveil both albums at the same time. But for all the theories we could spout out about them, we can do nothing else but wait and see what happens.

About The Author

Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022.

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case.

Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.