[2] A year before the release of his third solo project, Lil' Wayne remained the only member of the Hot Boys quartet under the Cash Money Records, as his companions Turk, B.G.

Together with Mannie Fresh's "smooth, laid-back production" and "top-flight beats", AllMusic's John Bush also praised "Wayne's drawling delivery" and Petey Pablo's guest spot on the album.

[12] Sam Chennault of Rhapsody stated that the album "has a score of killer hooks and infectious Dirty South beats" and found "Fresh's adlibs are among the funniest in all the business and are comic foil to Wayne's party anthems".

[8] Steve Jones of USA Today wrote: "Wayne covers too much of the same bling-bling and gangsta territory that has been trodden so many times before.

[10] Keith Harris of The Village Voice wrote: "on 500 Degreez, Wayne's clipped, slightly nasal chatter shares heartfelt but commonplace observations about the street hustle atop standard-issue Mannie Fresh bump-and-twitch", adding that "Wayne's between-track ad libs are more entertaining than his actual rhymes".

[16] As of September 3, 2002, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States alone.