In his review of the song, Paul Clements from Melody Maker felt that "as a lighthearted bubblegum pastiche, it fairly shimmers.

It unleashes its outre funk ideology over one of those patented Prince guitar riffs—a clipped, chunky groove that slips into the cerebral space once occupied by the subliminal 'Kiss' coda.

'Alphabet St' is meatier and a lot less meandering than much of the Madhouse future funk of 'Black', stating its case with a hip-shaking sass that is one of the maverick ruler's stock signatures.

"[4] Directed by Patrick R. Epstein and produced on very short notice on March 20, 1988[5] by filmmaker Michael R. Barnard, the music video for "Alphabet St." shows Prince walking and driving through an environment made out of letters.

The first one appears after the end of the first verse ("She'll want me from my head to my feet"), where there is a split second image with the hidden message "Don't buy The Black Album, I'm sorry."