In honor of the release of his forthcoming fourth studio album, Don’t Be Dumb, releasing Friday, January 16, the rapper is paying it forward in a big way. In collaboration with Bilt, he’ll be contributing to the rent of tenants living in the building he spent many of his childhood years in.
Rocky’s donation will cover the January 2026 rent for all tenants living in the Harlem building he spent his teenage years, which is on 116th Street.
“For me, it’s always been about your community and neighborhood,” the father-of-three shared in a statement, adding: “Harlem made me who I am, from uptown to downtown, and that connection to place is everything.”
“When Bilt said they wanted to cover rent for everyone in the same building where I grew up, that hit different. That’s not just business, that’s understanding what community really means,” he emphasized.
Bilt is releasing an exclusive, limited edition vinyl designed by Rocky himself of his forthcoming album, his first in eight years.
He said that the new vinyl is “my love letter to New York,” and moreover, “being able to give back to the exact place that raised me while helping people across the country with their rent is the kind of partnership that actually matters.”
According to a RentCafe Market Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau, as of December 2025, the average rent for an apartment in Harlem is $3,315, a 23.53% increase compared to the previous year, when the average rent was $2,684. The average apartment size is 644 square feet.
Rocky, born Rakim Athelston Mayers, has a reported net worth of approximately $30 million, however his partner Rihanna, who he has been in a relationship with since 2019, has a net worth of $1 billion, per Forbes, in large part thanks to the success of her cosmetics line Fenty Beauty.
Earlier this year, the couple welcomed their third child, their first baby girl, named Rocki Irish Mayers, born on September 13.
She follows in the footsteps of her two older brothers, who also have R-letter names; RZA Athelston was born in May 2022, and middle child Riot Rose was born in August 2023.
