The next month, Lil B released the song "My House" in collaboration with producer Metro Boomin as a single for Black Ken, though it was not featured on the mixtape.

Critics highlighted Lil B's stylistic versatility throughout the mixtape, and considered the production and rapping performances an improvement over his previous work.

Critics also said that the mixtape features 1980s West Coast hip-hop influences, with Francis Gooding of The Wire writing that Black Ken "orbits around [Lil B's] hometown of Berkeley".

[11] Black Ken is a hip-hop,[35] hyphy, G-funk,[24] deep funk,[25] and electro-funk mixtape[34] with elements of 1980s Bay Area rap.

[25][36] Critics highlighted Lil B's stylistic versatility[34][37] and considered his rapping and sound on the mixtape more refined than on previous releases.

[39] Ross Scarano of Complex described the beats on the mixtape as "retro but not quite,"[40] while Angel Diaz called the production "crisp and polished".

"[34] Francis Gooding of The Wire wrote that the mixtape "orbits around [Lil B's] hometown of Berkeley" and described it as "a tribute record to the rap music that made him a rapper".

[25] The eighth track, "Free Life", was highlighted by critics,[40][42] and features "tight, spaced-out production," according to Tiny Mix Tapes.

[39] Pitchfork's Sheldon Pearce described the song as "an oddball motivational speech" and compared it to Lil B's "No Black Person Is Ugly" (2014).

In a HotNewHipHop review of the song, Trevor Smith wrote that it sees "Lil B and Makonnen's worlds collide in a highly complimentary way", and compared the production on the track to Diddy's 2010 album Last Train To Paris.

[27] Pitchfork's Jayson Greene considered "Global" a highlight from Black Ken, calling it "the most unlikely club banger of [Lil B and ILoveMakonnen's] careers.

"[44] The fourteenth track, "Ride (Hold Up)" was described as a "sonic outlier" and "a Clara Rockmore theremin performance interrupted by sepia-toned zaps of Detroit techno" by Garvey.

[25] "Zam Bose (In San Jose)", the sixteenth track, contains elements of latin music, and was described as one of Black Ken's "brutal lows" by Pierre.

[34] Fact included it on their list of 25 best albums between July and September 2017, with John Twells calling it Lil B's most coherent and enjoyable release since God's Father (2012).

[41] Black Ken was included on The Wire's top 50 releases of 2017,[45] with the publication calling it "a more considered and structured statement than B has produced for a long while.

He also commented that musically, "there’s no angle by which it stands out within Lil B’s discography", and stated that the mixtape's adherence to convention detracted from its quality.