Five years after he first headlined New York City’s Governor’s Ball, A$AP Rocky returned in his full glory for a rousing finale on Sunday night (June 7). And though he spent part of his weekend cheering the Knicks onto their second consecutive 2026 NBA Finals victory, Rocky put down the jersey, picked up the microphone, and locked back into superstar rapper mode for his career-spanning set.

After Saturday night’s flash thunderstorm cut the night short — STRAY KIDS’ set was bumped two hours earlier; Blood Orange eventually rescheduled for Sunday, and Kali Uchis and Amyl and the Sniffers had sets canceled — Rocky’s finale had to make up for circumstances he had no control over.

“I came to get disrespectful,” proclaimed the Grammy-nominated rap star as he lorded over the packed festival crowd from an elevated onstage platform. Armed with a bullhorn-microphone and sporting an off-white AWGE tee, white-and-black balaclava and light wash blue jeans (which he later pulled down to reveal a “Harlem” waistband), Rocky came ready to start a riot. What exactly he was rioting against (or for?) was still unclear by the close of his set, but at least the multihyphenate reminded audiences why he has one of the strongest aesthetic eyes in his entire genre.

Originally set for an 8:45 p.m. ET start time, Rocky didn’t take the stage until a little after 9:00 p.m., closing out a festival that was notably light on hip-hop acts (just six played across the fest’s three days) and homegrown headliners. He exacerbated that delay with increasingly clunky transitions that left the crowd literally in the dark without so much as an instrumental track playing in the background — but when things clicked, Rocky harnessed some truly irresistible energy.

Serving as the de facto NYC stop for his ongoing Don’t Be Dumb Tour — which kicked off on May 27 at Chicago’s United Center — Rocky anchored his headlining performance with his latest LP, drawing on its frenetic, expansive and still-polished energy. Don’t Be Dumb, his first studio album in nearly eight years, debuted atop the Billboard 200 in January, spawning Billboard Hot 100 hits like “Stay Here 4 Life” (No. 23, with Brent Faiyaz), “Helicopter” (No. 24), “Stole Ya Flow” (No. 33) and “Punk Rocky” (No. 56).

It would take Rocky nearly nine songs to finally play something outside of the Don’t Be Dumb era, but the raucous energy of that album’s songs made for a lively first half of his set. He kicked things off with the scathing “Stole Ya Flow,” before transitioning into “Helicopter” and “Trunks” to maintain that, well, riotous energy. Clipse may have given a live rapping masterclass during the set just an hour prior, but Rocky was more concerned with using his master of ceremonies status to call for both mosh pits and for people to take off their shirts and wave them in the air “like a helicopter.”

Comprised of American flags — with his face superimposed on them, no less — and a massive Don’t Be Dumb-branded helicopter, in addition to warring “riotters” (dressed in all white) and SWAT “personnel” (dressed in all back), Rocky’s Gov Ball stage explicitly drew from U.S. military aesthetics. And Rocky’s bullhorn-microphone only emphasized those visual notes, with the Harlem MC moving more like a commanding officer than a rap superstar at the beginning of his set. That militant energy couldn’t save him from production cutting his mic as he approached the 10:00 p.m. ET curfew with seemingly no haste.

While the transitions certainly dragged, Rocky made up for it during moments like “A$AP Forever,” when the SWAT team followed him down the runway, nailing each image the choreography demanded. Other times, like during “Punk Rocky,” the staging felt a bit nonsensical. How do you play a song called “Punk Rocky” and not have your band front and center for its duration? Like any good festival headliner, however, Rocky knew that one surprise guest or song could remedy those inconsistencies. While he didn’t tap Rihanna, though she enjoyed the show in the crowd alongside JENNIE, Rocky did call up Dominican rapper Tokischa for the live performance debut of “Flackito Jodye,” their saucy, dembow-infused Don’t Be Dumb collaboration. As she ripped through her verse and popped her butt for good measure as Rocky’s sole guest (and surprise) of the night, Corona Park turned into Uptown for a split second.

After spending the bulk of his set playing Don’t Be Dumb, Rocky transitioned into “Praise the Lord,” seemingly kicking off a retrospective section that would span his generation-defining career. While he did find time to fit in “Peso,” “Fashion Killa,” “Wassup” and “Purple Swag,” Rocky’s set was ultimately cut short, with his mic’s audio getting pulled as he was gearing up to follow “Jukebox Joints.” Once it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to charm or pressure festival producers to extend his set, Rocky tossed his gloves and wave cap into the office, right before he attempted to unscrew the microphone from the bullhorn. Once that proved unfeasible, Rocky lobbed the entire contraption into the audience and walked off stage without another word.

Given the day had already been slightly delayed due to weather (Slayyyter’s set was notably postponed earlier that afternoon), Rocky should have at least gotten ten minutes extra to tear through signature hits like “1 Train,” “No Limit” and “F—kin’ Problems,” none of which he got the chance to perform. Between that debacle and the eyebrow-raising lack of hip-hop on the lineup, this year’s Gov Ball finale didn’t quite live up to the downright euphoric mood established by the Knicks’ two consecutive NBA Finals victories. Nonetheless, Rocky turned up for his city, and they beamed that energy right back to him.

Fans who weren’t able to make Rocky’s Gov Ball set can still catch him on his Don’t Be Dumb Tour. After hitting Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena for the next stop (June 8), Rocky’s latest trek will take him to major cities across the U.S. and Canada, before concluding on July 11 at Newark’s Prudential Center. The tour’s European leg will commence on Aug. 25 at Brussels’ ING Arena, and visit iconic metropolises like Milan, Copenhagen and Paris, before coming to a close on Oct. 11 at Athens’ Telekom Center.

See A$AP Rocky’s setlist at the 2026 Governor’s Ball below.