Morrissey appears to have been dropped from A$AP Rocky‘s new album ‘Don’t Be Dumb’.
READ MORE: NME’s most anticipated album releases of 2026
Rocky’s new album was shared yesterday (January 16), and some fans had been expecting a feature from Morrissey after the rapper expressed his desire to “fuck with” The Smiths frontman back in 2018.
“I might have to fuck with Morrissey on some Smiths shit,” he said at the time. “Make some emo, real, retro-infusion, motherfuckin’ 2018 shit, man.” Then, in 2021, he said that Morrissey had been writing, producing and contributing vocals to his new record, which was then titled ‘All Smiles’, but later renamed to ‘Don’t Be Dumb’.
Rocky further teased the collaboration in 2024, saying Morrissey features on a track called ‘Hood Happy’, which was never released.
However, when ‘Don’t Be Dumb’ was finally shared yesterday, Morrissey was not among the many guests featured.
The album also featured a presumed Drake diss track, called ‘Stole Ya Flow’, which also references Rocky’s partner, Rihanna.
‘Don’t Be Dumb’ is Rocky’s first album in almost eight years – his last LP, ‘Testing’ came out in May 2018. He first announced the album in June 2024 with the release date scheduled for August, but it was then subjected to a number of delays. In February 2025, he said he was “in the mixing and mastering realm of it,” and in December, he shared the fresh January release date.
NME listed ‘Don’t Be Dumb’ as one of the most anticipated album releases of 2026, writing: “After a years-long legal battle, A$AP Rocky was found not guilty last February for his role in a 2021 shooting incident. His fourth album ‘Don’t Be Dumb’ – preceded by singles such as ‘Pray4DaGang’, ‘Ruby Rosary’ and ‘Tailor Swif’ and coming nearly eight years after his last album, ‘Testing’ – then feels like the return of a prodigal son.”
In November, meanwhile, Rocky was officially unveiled as a new brand ambassador for Chanel. The rapper said of the French fashion house’s artistic director, Matthieu Blazy, “His designs feel both sensitive and strong, they’re grounded in reality but at the same time, always invite one to wonder. I’m so excited to see him at Chanel.”
Two months before, he welcomed his third child with Rihanna – Rocki Irish Mayers was born on September 13. The ‘Umbrella’ star had revealed her pregnancy while making a fashionably late entrance at the Met Gala in May.
He was also in two movies last year, starring in indie hit If I Had Legs I’d Kick You alongside Rose Byrne and Conan O’Brien, as well as Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, opposite Denzel Washington.
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