This year marking the 20-year anniversary of his debut record, Can I Borrow a Dollar?, Lonnie “Common” Lynn, Jr. is having a personal identity crisis of sorts, and he seems to know it. Throughout his career Common has never quite fit in. He’s either a mainstream emcee that very few people connect with or an underground artist who is too big for the snob scene. Along the way he’s made some of the best post-boom-bap records of all time, including the classics One Day It’ll All Make Sense (perfect for Tribe fans, but with better lyrics and less vocal diversity), Like Water for Chocolate (basically Com performing over jazz compositions), and Be (a collaborative album with Kanye West, who here did the most cohesive – and best – production work of his career). Before all those records hit shelves Com released an album called Resurrection in 1994 with a Chicago producer named No I.D., who also produced Dollar and One Day. Often considered one of the 10 best hip-hop records ever made, Resurrection set the tone for Common’s career; the album was so bold, masterful and ultimately influential that it defined its maker as the thoughtful, introspective, progressive emcee of the day.
Now, 17 years after the release of that great album, we have The Dreamer / The Believer, Common’s first new batch of songs since his career worst effort, Universal Mind Control – a Neptunes-produced release that was a shameless attempt to, as they say, “go mainstream.” And while I consider Common to be one of the quiet hip-hop leaders of his generation, I can’t help but suggest that his career hasn’t been the same since Kayne West came along. A Chicago native who claims Common and No I.D. as his two musical heroes, West’s star has grown over the years to unimaginable heights, long lapping the works of his heroes. Along the way Common has joined West’s G.O.O.D. Music crew, which has resulted in a number of changes in his public persona. After a quiet decade-plus spent releasing artsy, hitless, very musical hip-hop albums, Common has now been in movies, dated celebrities, written a somewhat popular book, been in television commercials and become, more or less, a minor celebrity. All that said, his music remains overlooked. Ignored, even, by even the outskirts of mainstream culture. And, because of this, on The Dreamer / The Believer, Common is mad. And he’s confused. And, at times, he’s still enlightened. But, mostly, Common feels determined to talk the listener in to finally respecting him – to believing in him as his underground fans have for so many moons. Throughout the record his tone almost comes off as bullying – a frustrated artist ready to shame listeners who love Kanye records but ignore Common records.
And so we have a strange, albeit interesting, new album from one of hip-hop’s truly legendary artists. And a great one. For starters, Common called up his old pal No I.D. for production duties, marking the first time the two have worked extensively together since 1997. And damn. Damn. Hip-hop fans all knew No I.D. was a talented producer, but on The Dreamer / The Believer we’re made to believe that he’s one of the best around. Or maybe even the best currently working. His style still steeped in the vibes of the Native Tongues movement of the late 80s/early 90s, No I.D.’s work here seems bigger than ever, and more musical. And, believe it or not, he’s produced some tracks that even have some mainstream appeal.
Common’s contributions are where things get confusing. He goes back and forth, from song to song, between emotions. He’s angry and frustrated. Now he’s enlightened and laid back. At times he’s trying to simultaneously be all these things. And while the bi-polar vibe is at first annoying, it quickly becomes the record’s identity. We have a man in crisis, wondering “Why did I so easily become a known actor, but can’t get people to care about my music?” Or maybe “How can I be so damn good at something, and even influence the most popular artist of my genre in the world, and still not find ears?” Needless to say, The Dreamer / The Believer is a personal record. A crisis record, even, where we learn more about our hero than ever.
Highly listenable from start to finish, Common’s ninth record hits its stride immediately, the first four tracks hitting hard, sounding like new rap classics. There’s the enlightened soul pop of the opener, “The Dreamer,” which begins the crisis. Next up is “Ghetto Dreams,” a gritty banger of a single that sees Common trading verses with the other best emcee of his generation, Nas. A new classic, surely. Then we have “Blue Sky,” an obvious single that features a vocal sample from, you guessed it, ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky.” And, finally, we have “Sweet,” the record’s most telling track. On “Sweet” Common finally gets all-out angry, critiquing young new hip-hop artists – mostly Drake – for their lack of authenticity. For their lack of interest in – and respect for – hip-hop roots. By the time the track fades out, you really feel for Common, who has now spent 20 years watching lesser artists outsell him by volumes. And, if you really know and understand the art of hip-hop, you probably agree with every word Common says here.
Tempted as I am to call The Dreamer / The Believer the best Common record yet, we can’t go there. Be, One Day and Resurrection are all more masterful, more historic hip-hop records. That said, the new album is maybe Common’s start-to-finish most listenable release yet. And certainly his best produced. That people still aren’t really paying attention – despite the Drake beef, Common’s new celebrity status and the album’s boldfaced prompting – is still a point of confusion. I suppose we have to look at the man in the middle, Common, once and for all. Some art just doesn’t have mainstream appeal. And, usually, that’s the best stuff around. Aside from maybe Action Jackson’s great 2011 album, The Dreamer / The Believer stands as my favorite hip-hop release of 2011. Better than Kanye. Better than Drake.
90/100
