There's no way else to say it. A$AP Rocky is on his experimental tip, even moreso than usual. Over the past few days, Flacko dropped off a pair of new tracks on SoundCloud, titled "5ive $tar$" and "Above." Sonically, they couldn't be more different, with the latter in particular being new territory for Rocky; it almost feels like he's trying to follow in the footsteps of Frank Ocean, only without the refined sense of polish. People have pointed out that both tracks feel rushed, even unfinished, with questionable mixing and production. In fact, the early consensus to both was mixed-to-negative, and our community seemed wary about Rocky's new sonic direction.
Perhaps there's more to the story. While some immediately assumed these tracks were a taste of Rocky's upcoming project, others speculated that they were merely "tests." After all, the artwork for both singles featured the presumed title "Testing," which fueled speculation of an official album title. While the fans debated, Rocky quietly made some changes on his SoundCloud page, changing up the artwork to something else entirely. Now, if you head over, you'll see that both tracks have been given a minimalist makeover. "Testing" has been replaced by "Dummie," which also happens to feel like a potential album title.
All things considered, Rocky's roll-out is kind of cool. It's reminiscent, at least in theory, of Kanye West's "living album" concept, which found him updating The Life Of Pablo whenever he saw it. Perhaps Rocky is trying something new for his upcoming project, which may or may not be called Dummie. Either way, stay tuned for more on A$AP Rocky and his artistic endeavors, and check out both pieces of artwork - original and updated - below.