"[2] According to Devlin, Gates's "eye-opening" foreword "provides deep historical context for rap" and that "it alone makes the book worth owning.

"[2] Devlin criticized the title, arguing that the omission of the publisher in it "seems to present a claim to definitiveness" that is not warranted.

[2] Pettie stated that the transcription of rap lyrics does not make for an effective presentation as the rhythm of the music is not represented.

"[4] Anderson stated that he was "evangelically excited" for the book since "It feels like it was published, exclusively for me, by the vanity press of my own subconscious.

People commenting in the articles stated that the errors appeared similar to those on the website Online Hip Hop Lyrics Archive (OHHLA).

[8] The authors had asked undergraduates for help transcribing the lyrics; the songs were released around ten years prior to the births of the students.

[11] For instance, on the Ol’ Dirty Bastard song “Brooklyn Zoo,” The Anthology of Rap transcribes a line as “I drop science like girls be droppin babies,” whereas some critics heard “I drop science like Cosby droppin babies.” [12][13] New York Magazine selected The Anthology of Rap as one of the best books of 2010, with Anderson noting, "This thrilling (but controversial) textual monument to a thrilling (but controversial) oral tradition wrestles the genre's greatest lyricists out of the airwaves and into cold print.