[19][21] Due to its sparse sound and minimalist production, music writers have compared it to singer-songwriter Johnny Cash's American Recordings albums with producer Rick Rubin.

[5][15][28][29] On Scott-Heron's thematic departure, critic Paul Trynka wrote "The man who depicted Winter in America is now in his own autumn; a season replete with both beauty and sadness".

[21] The Skinny's Bram Gieben perceived "flashes of Burroughs-like darkness, the wry humour of post-addiction Richard Pryor" in Scott-Heron's performance.

[13][28][30] According to Robert Ferguson of Drowned in Sound, Scott-Heron expresses "confession, but no apology" to "pick over the bones of his life, acknowledging the hard times and his own mistakes, but standing proud of all they have led him to become".

[7] The album's bookending and two-part poem "On Coming from a Broken Home" features piano and a sampled string loop from Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" (2007).

[28] It defends Scott-Heron's upbringing and arguing that his grandmother's love and devotion taught him passionate humanity, despite lacking of a positive male figure.

[7][15][28] "Your Soul and Mine" adapts lyrics from Scott-Heron's spoken word piece "The Vulture", originally featured on Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970).

For this "audio-visual remix" he replaced 90% of Scott-Heron's musical track with train sounds and environmental recordings to create a "musique concrète" version of the original composition.

[19] Siddharta Mitter from The Boston Globe believed Russell's "swirling miasma of sound wholly suits Scott-Heron’s mood, which is angry yet humble, and even more his voice, which is rich and intent as ever".

[6] In The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick found the lyrics to be of "depth, wisdom and experience", delivered in "a voice rich with musicality, all set in a sonic context that locates him in the present moment".

[23] Rupert Howe of Q said Russell's arrangements "brilliantly frame [Scott-Heron]'s rich burr and terse street poetry with brooding electronica and stark blues handclaps".

Writing for Chicago Sun-Times, Jim DeRogatis deemed the album's sound "alien and unsuccessful" while describing Scott-Heron's performance as "bland philosophizing and surprisingly hollow personal reflections".