Pairing Ryan's sublime lyricism with organic production and a precisely constructed concept, the MC's fifth project is a superb statement piece from one of rap's most ingenious poets".

[3] Paul A. Thompson of Pitchfork wrote: "It includes some of the most striking writing of Ka's career—the knottier verses and the blunter ones, too—and is utterly immersive, whole lifetimes of fear and pain and death and regeneration condensed into 33 minutes".

[5] Robert Christgau called the rapper "a matter-of-fact realist" who has "never been averse to recollection or commentary, and this album assumes a didactic stance he puts across", and went on to say: His basic aim here is to report on, not preach about, the devastation the street life leaves in its economically understandable, politically defensible, humanly unjustifiable wake—reporting that leaves room to articulate emotional alternatives, so that 'Had to use your fists to change your fiscal' evolves into 'Times the inner me cry from the imagery.'

But by closing with 'I Love (Mimi, Moms, Kevs)' (wife, mother, departed homeboy) he makes clear that human connections are a precondition of whatever joy comes his way.

[4]In a song review for "Sins of The Father", Dan-O of Freemusicempire wrote: "...I was very pleased to have retained the thick poetic brilliance of Ka on his seventh album while getting a little more balanced mixture of production.