It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold 500,000 copies in the United States.

"If I Had No Loot" was named the tenth best single of 1993 by The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

[11] "If I Had No Loot" was released by Polygram and Wing Records on June 1, 1993,[12] as the lead single from Sons of Soul (1993) and received frequent radio airplay.

[16] On August 11, the single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA);[17] it sold 500,000 copies domestically.

[22] Charles Aaron of Spin viewed the song as one of the group's best and called it "a splashy tour of 20th century American dance music—from jumpin' jazz to urban blues to '70s funk to hip hop."

Aaron found the Ice Cube sample "irrepressible", but felt that the hook is instead "how Dwayne Wiggins's swingin', bluesy guitar becomes its own break-beat.

[23] The song was voted number 10 on The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1993.

[24] Music journalist Michaelangelo Matos ranked "If I Had No Loot" number 68 on his list of Top 100 Singles of the 1990s.