The Dreamer, The Believer is the ninth studio album for artist Common, with longtime friend and collaborator – No I.D. handling production for the entire album.
When Common released his first album, 1992’s Can I Borrow A Dollar, he was a scrappy kid from Chicago that helped put the city on hip-hop’s radar. Almost two decades later, he’s become a staple of the music industry, and a bona fide icon, having released eight studio albums and become a successful television and film actor.
When asked about the album Common had this to say: “It's going to be positive hip-hop. Hip-hop that can really generate good spirit, the spirit of the music and just good energy,” he said. “I'm excited about the album ‘The Dreamer, The Believer’. I feel blessed that I got to work with No I.D. I'm enthused to do hip-hop, which is something that I have to do when I feel it. It's the spirit and energy of hip-hop that made you just enjoy it and love the music and not feel like, "Man, is this gonna sell?” or “I sold this many.” It's stuff that made you feel something, it's stuff that you can use that inspired your life. I think about hip-hop like Brand Nubian and KRS-One and N.W.A. and Rakim, that stuff inspired my life. Those things really shaped who I am."