Blender editor Anthony Decurtis wrote: "An outstanding judge of talent, Dupri doesn’t get the difference between making hits and making statements.

The rest falls as flat as an opened bottle of Cristal the morning after.

"[2] Jason Birchmeier from AllMusic felt that "JD doesn't live up to his own hype on Instructions.

His rhymes flow well but are overflowing with clichés and constant boasting.

He's better at co-opting rhymes than coming up with his own [...] Like JD himself, Instructions seems to rely more on its surface gloss than its substance.