Maps of Music

The Dreamer/The Believer (2011)

Where the lyrics of The Dreamer/The Believer take you, and where it was really made.

Recording began in 2009, but the album was not finished on schedule because Common wanted to concentrate on acting.

Key places

EastWest Studios, Los Angeles (2011)

Recording site EastWest Studios — The album page links EastWest Studios in Los Angeles to the recording. The point marks the studio building itself, so the exact spot inside the complex is not specified. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Dreamer/The Believer: ninth studio album by American rapper Common
• Released in the UK on 19 December 2011 and in the US on 20 December 2011 through Warner Bros. Records
• Released alongside Common's newly launched label Think Common Music Inc.
• Produced entirely by No I.D., Common's longtime friend and frequent collaborator

Background

• Recording sessions began in 2009
• Originally due for a spring release
• Not completed because Common wanted to concentrate on acting
• Scheduled for April 2011, then pushed back to late 2011
• No I.D. had produced Common's earlier albums, including Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), Resurrection (1994) and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997)
• Common said the album would be positive hip-hop that generates good spirit and energy

Recording

• Recorded at 4220 Studios and Record One in Los Angeles
• Mixed at Record One and 4220 Studios
• Mastered by Dave Kutch

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Lonnie Rashid Lynn, born March 13, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois.
• Began rapping in the late 1980s at Luther High School South in Chicago.
• Formed the rap trio C.D.R., which dissolved by 1991.
• Debuted as a solo artist in 1992 under the name Common Sense, later shortened to Common after a lawsuit from a reggae band of the same name.

Career

• Released Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992), Resurrection (1994), and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997) on Relativity Records and then MCA Records.
• Gained mainstream success through the Soulquarians collective, especially with Like Water for Chocolate (2000), produced largely by J Dilla.
• Electric Circus (2002) was experimental and less commercially successful.
• Signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music; Be (2005) and Finding Forever (2007) followed, with Finding Forever debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
• Won Grammys for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Southside" and Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life" with Erykah Badu.
• Later albums The Dreamer/The Believer (2011), Nobody's Smiling (2014), Black America Again (2016), and A Beautiful Revolution Pts. 1 and 2 (2020–2021).
• Won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Glory" from Selma (2014) with John Legend.
• Acting career includes Hell on Wheels, Wanted, Date Night, John Wick: Chapter 2, and Silo.
• Won a Primetime Emmy for "Letter to the Free" from the documentary 13th.
• Made his Broadway debut in Between Riverside and Crazy (2023).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: average score 74 from 26 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• The Independent: five stars; praised Common for expressing ethical and religious principles without sounding sanctimonious
• Robert Christgau: three-star honorable mention in his Consumer Guide; picked out "Raw (How You Like It)" and "The Believer"
• DJ Booth: four and a half out of five; called the work worthy of serious recognition
• HipHopDX: four and a half out of five; said every song succeeds on the chemistry of Common and No I.D.
• RapReviews: 8.5 out of 10; said the album is not a 1990s style brought to 2012
• Consequence of Sound: three and a half stars; said it does not really spark until a few harder tracks
• BBC Music: favorable; said Common merges his raw lyrical roots with No I.D.'s voluminous soundtrack
• Los Angeles Times: two and a half stars out of four; said Common continues to impress and regress
• Now: three out of five; said the album is just decent compared with his earlier work
• The A.V. Club: grade C; called it a passable album of mostly neutral jams and bare-minimum production
• Sputnikmusic: two and a half out of five; said it shows Common with his head in the clouds

Records

• Debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard 200, with 69,000 copies sold in its first week in the United States
• As of July 2014, sold 154,000 copies in the United States
• Charted fourth on Top Rap Albums, fifth on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and sixth on Top Digital Albums

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The single "Sweet" led blogs to speculate that it targeted Drake, who often sings in his raps.
• Common said "Sweet" was about anyone who feels it and was not written for a specific person.
• After a Drake response on a Rick Ross mixtape track, Common remixed the same track with his own verse.
• The second single "Blue Sky" was officially available on iTunes from 7 October 2011 and samples "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra.
• The first single "Ghetto Dreams" features Nas, and its music video was directed by Matt Alonzo.
• The opening track "The Dreamer" features Maya Angelou, and "The Believer" features John Legend.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

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