After a half-decade, plenty of leaked tracks, and countless rumors, A$AP Rocky’s fourth studio album Don’t Be Dumb is finally coming to fruition. While headlining the final night of Rolling Loud Miami, Rocky debuted another new track, and its pointed lyrics have spurred a special kind of internet frenzy specific to hip-hop fans: beef. Or at least, the possibility of it.
“First you stole my flow / So I stole your bitch / Then you stole my style / I need at least 10 percent / All due disrespect, I hope you take offense,” Rocky appears to rap on the new record.
Now, these lyrics are obviously vague, but as nearly every living human knows, A$AP Rocky and Rihanna have been together for several years, with a second child on the way. As such, many fans have zeroed in on one particular artist as the person Rocky hopes is taking offense: Travis Scott. Scott headlined the second day of the festival, and is in the midst of his own long-awaited album rollout, with Utopia finally releasing on July 28,.
Though never officially confirmed, it is widely speculated that Scott and Rihanna dated for a time in the mid-2010s. (That coincided with Scott co-producing “Bitch Better Have My Money” and “Woo,” in addition to supporting Rihanna on her Anti tour.)
Given that the pair share many industry friends, including Metro Boomin, Young Thug, and Kid Cudi, the lack of actual collaborations from Scott and Rocky has long been interpreted as a sign of bad blood. Rocky has refuted the rumors in the past via social media, though a clip from a May 2022 episode of the Drink Champs podcast saw Rocky seemingly agree with host N.O.R.E. that Scott “stole his whole style” from Pretty Flacko. (For what it’s worth, other New York hip-hop luminaries like Funkmaster Flex have been more explicit in their accusations that Scott’s style is cribbed from Rocky.) Scott did speak out in support of Rocky when he was imprisoned in Sweden in 2019, though one assumes a situation that serious superseded any kind of petty music industry feuding.
Coincidentally, at the 2019 iteration of Rolling Loud New York, fans recorded a Rocky freestyle in which he addressed an unnamed artist who he is often likened to, fueling rumors at the time he was talking about Scott. “Please don’t compare him and me, you offendin’ me,” said Rocky.“This ain’t a diss and we ain’t enemies / They concerned with making hits / I’m more concerned with breaking history.”