The Dreamer, The Believer

pitchfork

Common bounces back from the low point of his career with his best album since 2005's Be. Produced by soul-rap veteran No I.D. and featuring Nas, Maya Angelou, and John Legend, The Dreamer/The Believer has moments that recall the humanity and thoughtfulness of his mid-90s classics.

rollingstone

Common has unshakable faith in rap as inspiration: as a party-starter, a spirit-raiser, a consciousness-transformer. A great hip-hop record can be all those things, especially when the beats are right, and No I.D., who produced all of Common’s ninth album, grounds the songs with a steady bass and drums rumble, adding dashes of color like […]