The rapper says he also attempted to get the director to design the cover art.
A$AP Rocky photographed on July 24, 2024 at the 1896 Studios in Brooklyn. Ruven Afanador
A$AP Rocky’s ties with cinema run deep. The film aficionado made it a point to connect with acclaimed director Tim Burton ahead of Don’t Be Dumb‘s arrival.
As part of his new cover story with Billboard, Rocky revealed he intended to have the Oscar-nominated director design the cover art to his TESTING follow-up, but their schedules didn’t align to properly collaborate on the artwork. However, the Harlem native pulled up on Burton and had the opportunity to play him Don’t Be Dumb, which received the Big Fish director’s stamp of approval.
“I sat and I played the album for Tim Burton, and he was f–king with it heavy,” he said of Burton’s reaction to the music. “He was rocking his head and he’s like, ‘Wow! I didn’t know you made that kind of music!’”
Trending on Billboard
While Burton didn’t contribute to the LP, Rocky did connect with the director’s right-hand composer, Danny Elfman, who added pieces to certain songs, including one produced by The Alchemist.
German Expressionism, the 20th century artistic movement that found artists looking emotionally inward to create expressive visuals that bucked realism, has played a major role in influencing Rocky’s music and other artistic endeavors at the moment. “In this very moment, it’s very grim. That’s an abbreviation,” he said. “It’s infusing German expressionism with ghetto futurism.”
Don’t Be Dumb was intended for an Aug. 30 release, but has been delayed until the fall. The album is Rocky’s first since 2018’s TESTING.
He released his first single of the year with the Jessica Pratt-assisted “Highjack” earlier in August, which gave Pratt her first Billboard Hot 100 entry when the Jordan Patrick-produced track debuted at No. 89 on the chart.
An accompanying music video arrived on Wednesday (Aug. 21), and the black-and-white clip pays homage to Burton’s take on German Expressionism.
