ASAP Rocky is making sure fans don't just hear his new album; they can step inside it.
Shortly after releasing Don't Be Dumb on Friday, Rocky rolled out 360° VR visualizers for every track on the project via his official YouTube channel, giving each song its own immersive world rather than the standard visualizer treatment.
Unlike traditional visualizers that loop a single graphic or animation, Rocky's new uploads let viewers rotate the camera perspective within the video that show different versions of himself and other imagery from the album, creating a VR-like feel even without a headset. The visualizers include built-in camera controls at the top left of the video, letting users click and shift their viewpoint in real time.
That means fans can watch the visuals like a normal music video or fully explore the environment by moving the frame around, almost like they're walking through the song.
The strategy is already paying off online. Many of the visualizers are quickly pulling in six-figure view counts. The VR push also adds another layer to the significance of Don't Be Dumb, which is Rocky's fourth studio album and his first full-length release in eight years.
The visuals aren't the only part of this drop grabbing attention. Listeners have also been zeroing in on one of the album's early standout moments on "Stole Ya Flow" where Rocky appears to throw shots at Drake. While he never directly says Drake's name, the bars are pointed enough that fans didn't need a confirmation.
"First you stole my flow, so I stole yo' bitch," Rocky raps, a line many took as a clear nod to years of tension between the two stars, including long-running chatter about style imitation and the complicated personal overlap surrounding Rihanna.
Rocky goes even harder as the verse continues, calling out copycats and throwing in a body-modification reference: "N***as getting BBLs, lucky we don't body shame/Throwing dirt on Rocky name, turn around and copy game."