'"[7] Unlike her previous work, on this album Lyte features a more diverse production team, which includes her usual King of Chill and Audio Two adding to The 45 King of Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit, Ivan "Doc" Rodriguez, Wolf & Epic (who have previously worked with Seal, Sheena Easton, Bell Biv Devoe and Ralph Tresvant), among others.

[13] She said about the album content "I'm talking about so many things, from drinking and driving, smoking causing cancer, losing virginity, abortion from a pro-choice stance, drug addiction, AIDS.

[20] Writing for the magazine Details, Brantley Bardin declared that the album's "only real fault… is that with at least one message (if not six) per song, it verges on becoming the ultimate public service announcement."

"[14] Joan Morgan from Spin commented "If you consider yourself a rap aficionado, let alone an MC Lyte fan, skip the first side of Act Like You Know, " also found the samples and arrangements of the album's first half overwrought.

"It falls way off and lands squarely in pop-rap hell.… [Lyte's] voice has the eerie, anemic sound of a lost MC in a musical identity crisis."

Even so, Morgan admitted, "She finds herself on the second side, thank God, and comes back kicking shit harder than ever over fat, simple drum beats and some seriously slamming samples.

"[21] Gil Griffin of The Washington Post wrote in his review of the album "Lyte proves she shines brightest among female rappers.

Eighteen well-written songs, a mixture of deliveries, and fresh beats and samples give her a rough, tough and psychedelic symmetry."

Although Griffin singled out socially conscious songs like Eyes Are the Soul, Poor Georgie, and When in Love, he would also comment that "When off the serious subjects, she's a devilishly funny and clever storyteller, and a ruthless competitor-slayer - especially when she goes after other rappers on Kamikaze.

While she was talented in both genres, he wrote, maintaining her "consistent skills" and proving she's a "great storyteller," the departure put her in a "confusing middle ground.

"[23] James Bernard of Entertainment Weekly rated the album an A−, saying "Hip-hop does not have to be hard; it can be sensitive and smooth, as this rap vet proves on her third effort.

"[24] In hindsight, Alex Henderson of AllMusic commented that even with a more commercial sound, the album "is far from a sellout - Lyte's music still has plenty of bite, substance, and integrity."