[6] Awareness of reggae began to change in 1972 with the release of the seminal film The Harder They Come, which became a cult hit that year in the UK, with its soundtrack featuring two songs by the Maytals.

[citation needed] On March 25, 2003, Funky Kingston was released on compact disc by Universal complete in its original format, along with the Jamaican In the Dark album and the "Pressure Drop" single.

[16] Funky Kingston, Toots and the Maytals’ first release to be distributed by Chris Blackwell’s Island Records label proved to be a critical triumph.

Rock critic Lester Bangs, writing in Stereo Review, described the album as "perfection, the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released.

"[13] Toots Hibbert's vocals were widely praised on the 1975 release due to his "Motown inflections" that seems to, rather innovatively, bridge together the reggae genre with soul.

"[4] In a retrospective review in 2020, Pitchfork's Wayne Marshall wrote that Funky Kingston is more "reflective of the core Jamaican sound" than Bob Marley's music.

He called Funky Kingston a "classic", saying that it "captured the country soul of roots reggae at its creative peak", and that it is a "wry testament to the shared circumstances of the black and working-class masses".

[9] The title track, "Funky Kingston", appears in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game soundtrack, on the fictitious radio station K-Jah West.