A$AP Rocky and J. Cole team up on “Ruby Rosary,” a new song produced by The Alchemist, Rex Kudo, Carlton McDowell and Jordan Patrick, which will appear on Rocky’s forthcoming album, Don’t Be Dumb.
A$AP Rocky and J. Cole Deliver Tough Bars on “Ruby Rosary”
On Friday (Sept. 6), A$AP Rocky premiered his song “Ruby Rosary” featuring J. Cole. This is the first official collaboration featuring the two rappers on one track. The song, which can be heard below, finds Rocky and Cole serving bars over The Alchemist-produced beat. Lyrically, the two rhymers approach their verses a bit differently over a melodic, soulful piano groove.
The A$AP Mob leader doesn’t want to hear about which rappers are in anyone’s top five. “Cut the s**t, cut the lies, word to the wise/Who in your top five? Haha (F**k your top five)/I don’t get fresh step, b**ch, I’m buried alive/I heard dawg talkin’ funny, like it’s Family Guy/Carin’ for n***as like I’m Mary or Bob/Made a promise to God, gotta strive when you marry the mob,” A$AP Rocky raps on the track.
Meanwhile, Cole spits rhymes about moving forward in the rap game and not looking back at what he did in the past.
“Connectin’ to God, I’m a vessel, when they ask for the old, you ignore ’em/Goin’ backwards is borin’, b***h, and I’m not Michael Jordan, I don’t do the retro/Uh, aye, tell ’em again like an echo,” Cole rhymes.
“Ruby Rosary” is a single off the Harlem, N.Y. rapper’s upcoming album, Don’t Be Dumb, which is set to arrive sometime this fall. So far, he’s released “HIGHJACK” featuring Jessica Pratt and “Tailor Swif.” The music video for “Tailor Swif” is one of the most creatively odd visuals to come from an artist in quite some time.
Read More: A$AP Rocky Insists Issues With Drake Are ‘Kitty Sh*t’ and He’s Got ‘Bigger Fish to Fry’
A$AP Rocky Reveals More Details About Songs on Don’t Be Dumb
A$AP Rocky’s fourth studio album, Don’t Be Dumb, was scheduled to drop on Aug. 30, but has now been pushed to the fall. According to Flacko, leaks and sample clearances are the reason for the delay. Rocky initially teased the arrival of his new album in 2022, when he revealed a full-length project was on the way during a performance for Amazon Music Live. He announced the album title in December on 2022, and said the project was complete.
Since then, there have been minimal details about the LP. However, on Aug. 22, the rhymer shared more intel about his forthcoming project during an interview with Billboard.
In the discussion, Rocky spoke about two songs from the project: “Shroom Cloud” and “Grim.” He described “Shroom Cloud” as an experimental track that addresses societal issues. Flacko says “Grim” is a description of what’s going on “in this very moment.” The track infuses German expressionism with ghetto futurism.
Don’t Be Dumb follows A$AP Rocky’s 2018 album, Testing, which includes the double-platinum track “Praise Da Lord (Da Shine)” featuring Skepta.
Read More: A$AP Rocky’s Don’t Be Dumb Album – Here’s Everything We Know
Listen to A$AP Rocky’s song “Ruby Rosary” featuring J. Cole below.