A hip hop album, the lyrics of All Money Is Legal focus on wealth and, to a lesser degree, Amil's personal life.

Two singles – "I Got That" with vocals from Beyoncé and "4 da Fam" with verses from Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, and Jay-Z – were released from the album and promoted with music videos.

Years later, she publicly denied the rumors and said she had left because she was unable to handle industry pressures and wanted to have more time to care for her child.

"[19] She said she wanted to avoid sexual topics on All Money Is Legal and had planned not to use any profanity in her future music, explaining: "I know I sin, but I'm trying to become a better person.

Her then-manager Mathew Knowles paid Roc-A-Fella for the featured spot as a way to assess her viability as a solo artist, since she was still a part of Destiny's Child at the time.

[23][24] Alongside Just Blaze, the album's production team included Tyrone Fyffe, Jon-John Robinson, LES, Poke & Tone, Rockwilder, EZ Elpee, Chavon Henry, Sean Lashley, K-Rob, Jay Garfield, Lofey, and Omen.

[17][18] David Browne, writing for Entertainment Weekly, described its compositions as having "low slung beats and [an] uncluttered vibe" similar to Jay-Z's music from that era,[23] and the Dayton Daily News' Talia Jackson said the album had his signature funk samples and R&B choruses.

[24] The New York Daily News' Jim Farber wrote that Amil was more personal in her music than Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim, whom he described as "sexy cartoons".

[26] The opening track "Smile 4 Me" was inspired by Amil's life, and includes the lyrics: "Got my people up north trying to slice the bid / While I'm in love with a nigga with a wife and a kid.

[24] Commentators compared the song to music released by Destiny's Child,[29][30] and a Spin writer said it continues the "statement[s] of simple financial and romantic independence" found throughout Beyoncé's discography.

[26][31] In "Girlfriend", she worries about infidelity after taking a woman's boyfriend, and raps about the shame of going "from Gucci sandals back to no-name brands" on "Anyday".

[23] Amil's lyrics on All Money Is Legal have been cited as an example of the theme of "gold digging" in hip hop performed by women.

Short term is not defined so much by a length of time, but rather a mind set whereby the male is good for as long as he can meet the Gold Digger's demands.

"[32] They highlighted the lyric "You know I gotta keep tricks up the sleeve, leav' em bankrupt with blue balls till the dick bleed" from the title track "All Money is Legal (A.M.I.L.)"

[3] Len Righi, writing for The Morning Call, described Amil's style as "golddigger rap", but noted the album contained songs that were "not all diamonds and major coins".

[48] For a 2017 Vulture article, John Kennedy had a lukewarm response to the song, calling it "a passable Roc-A-Fella posse cut that feels more like a team-building exercise".

[49] In a 2018 Complex article, Andrew Barber and Al Shipley considered "4 da Fam" to be "really a Jay record" despite being on Amil's album; they praised Jay-Z for having "the best verse and batt[ing] clean up".

[3] AllMusic's MacKenzie Wilson said Amil was "bold enough to make it solo" with her "New York childhood street smarts" and a "sultry sassiness" throughout the music.

[57] Despite criticizing All Money Is Legal as "unfortunately titled", Dan DeLuca said in The Philadelphia Inquirer that Amil's rapping abilities distinguished her from other female rappers and allowed her to stand out from the album's featured artists.

[23] Ta-Nehisi Coates, writing for the Washington City Paper, panned All Money Is Legal as "a schizophrenic work" with songs "swinging from aching honesty to gangsta-bitch schtick".

An anonymous review columnist in Billboard praised the autographical "Smile 4 Me" as "a testament to [Amil's] lyricism" and wrote that her verses in "Quarrels" on themes of morality would "make heads both nod and think".

[60] A Vibe columnist identified "Quarrels", alongside Eve's 1999 single "Love Is Blind", as examples of "strong-willed, pro-woman songs" written and recorded by female rappers.

[61] Despite their criticism of Amil's album as inferior to her collaborations with Jay-Z, Soren Baker, writing for the Los Angeles Times, believed she demonstrated "promise when she becomes more personal in her storytelling".

In a 2018 Rolling Stone article, Rob Sheffield praised Amil for releasing "her own kick-ass album with [an] excellent title" following her early collaboration with Jay-Z.

[62] In an article for PopMatters published about three years after the album's release, Terry Sawyer said Amil's music was generic and left only a "fleeting, shrugging impression".

[63] At Fact, Son Raw said Amil's voice made her music a "love-her-or-hate-her proposition", but highlighted "4 da Fam" as a "prime Roc La Familia-era posse cut".

[5][65] After appearing in a music video alongside the rapper Baby (later known as Birdman), a February 2001 Vibe column speculated that she was likely to sign a record deal with Cash Money, the label he co-founded.

[2][5][67] Music industry rumors attributed Amil's departure from Roc-A-Fella to personal conflict between her and Jay-Z, as well as his disapproval of her (reported) weight gain.

"[65]Amil said she took a hiatus from her music career because she was mentally unprepared for the pressures of the industry and she wanted to take care of her child, who suffered from asthma.