31/01/2026

LYFE SATURDAY | JAN 31, 2026

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A$ap Rocky returns o Artiste balances life, pressure, freedom on Don’t Be Dumb

ALBUM REVIEW

Ű BY AMEEN HAZIZI A FTER eight years, Don’t Be Dumb finally exists. And honestly, it sounds like an album made by someone who has lived a lot since the last time we heard from him. This is Rocky’s first proper album since Testing (2018) and everything that happened in between is all over it. The Sweden arrest. The legal case dragging on for years. A$ap Mob quietly falling apart. Fashion taking up more space than music. Rihanna. Kids. After so many delays and false starts, it started to feel like the album might never arrive at all. Don’t Be Dumb sounds like Rocky finally meeting all of that head-on and saying, this is where I am now.

The biggest thing working in the album’s favour is how little it wants to sit in one sound. Almost every track feels like it belongs to a different project. Air Force (Black Demarco) is aggressive in a good way, almost Death Grips-adjacent. Robbery with Doechii flips straight into jazzy smoothness. STFU leans house, Stop Snitching is straight trap and Stay Here 4 Life drifts into something phonk-ish and hazy. On paper, that should be a mess but somehow, it flows. That is where Rocky’s strength still is. Even when the beats are all over the place, his flow and attitude keep everything glued together. Each track works on its own but listening front to back makes it clear there is a vision here. The legal stuff hangs over the album from the

The album clocks in at just under an hour including bonus tracks.

A$ap Rocky’s stage name comes from his childhood nickname ‘Rocky’, which he kept long before joining the A$ap Mob. – PICS FROM INSTAGRAM @ASAPROCKY

The album cover art is designed by American filmmaker Tim Burton.

Rocky sounds closest to the breezy, melodic version people associate with his older stuff, the Sundress era energy. It does not feel like nostalgia bait, more like him reminding you he can still do that if he wants. Overall, the album is enjoyable with head bopping beats and deep bars. Standout tracks include Stay Here 4 Life , Fish N Steak (What It Is) and Punk Rocky , which capture Rocky at his most focused and expressive. Even the title feels deliberate. Don’t Be Dumb features a wide range of collaborators, including Doechii, Brent Faiyaz, Sauce Walka, Westside Gunn, Thundercat, will.i.am and Jessica Pratt, alongside longtime friend and frequent collaborator Tyler, the Creator. Rocky is back and the album justifies the wait.

start. He never turns it into a therapy session but the tension is there. Court references, paranoia, threats that feel more serious than usual. This does not sound like Rocky playing gangster for fun. It sounds like someone who has actually been dealing with consequences. At the same time, he is clearly tired of being asked about his life. STFU says exactly what it needs to say and nothing more. No explanation, no clarification, just irritation turned into a hook. Family still plays a big role though. Fatherhood and Rihanna are part of the flex now. Playa frames responsibility as something to be proud of. Stole Ya Flow is even more direct, with Rocky openly bragging about his kids and their mother. It is not sentimental. It is confident. This is his life and he is comfortable in it. There are flashes of classic Rocky too. Punk

Mariah Carey to perform Italian song at Winter Olympics

POP star Mariah Carey is to perform “a beautiful song in Italian“ at the opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, said creative director Marco Balich, reported German Press Agency. “She will enchant many of us,” Balich said. Carey, a five-time Grammy Award winner, had her participation at the opening ceremony confirmed last month and organisers are counting on a line-up of prominent guests for the show on Feb 6. In addition to Carey, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and singer Laura Pausini have already been announced. Further guests also include actors Pierfrancesco Favino, Sabrina Impacciatore and Matilda De Angelis. However, Balich stressed “the real stars of the ceremony are the athletes.” Under the motto “Armonia” (harmony), the Milano-Cortina 2026 opening ceremony will take place at four different venues of the Games.

The heart of the show will be the San Siro Stadium in Milan. However, there will also be simultaneous ceremonies in Predazzo, Livigno, and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The Olympic flame will also follow this concept and will burn in two cauldrons at different locations, Balich explained. One will be installed in the Arco della Pace in the centre of Milan, the other in Cortina on Piazza Angelo Dibona. The design of the cauldron is a tribute to Leonardo da Vinci and recalls his famous Knots, the line patterns that are found in his paintings. From Feb 7 until the Olympic Flame is extinguished on Feb 22, the cauldron at the Arco della Pace in Milano will be at the heart of a daily event. The show will last between three and five minutes and will take place on the hour, every hour, from 5pm to 11pm, open to citizens and visitors. – Bernama-dpa

Volunteer dancers rehearse during preparations for the opening ceremony inside a temporary structure next to San Siro stadium ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. – REUTERSPIC