The album's production was done by Rico Love, Ron Browz, the Inkredibles, Eric Hudson, Jim Jonsin and DJ Infamous, and features guest contributions from rappers Lil Wayne, Lil' Kim, Raekwon, T-Pain, T.A.

and Swizz Beatz and R&B singers Akon and Pleasure P. The album garnered a mixed reception from critics who felt it borrowed too much from current hip-hop trends to regain both commercial success and relevancy for Joe.

[9][10] Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 received mixed reviews from music critics who found Joe trying too hard to recapture J.O.S.E.

Mariel Concepcion of Billboard praised the production for being energetic and versatile for Joe to rap over, saying that "the Bronx-bred rapper again proves that he's got a knack for infectious beats.

"[12] Sean A. Malcolm of XXL said that despite some tracks feeling dull and monotonous, he praised Joe for maintaining his New York roots while mixing it with his newfound Miami influence through his performance, concluding that "Sequels rarely live up to the original, and J.O.S.E.

"[11] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews was mixed towards the album, noting that Joe goes back and forth delivering sub-standard lyrics over production that's commercially tasteful, saying that, "I suppose Joe can't be blamed for trying to stay trendy so he doesn't become irrelevant, but in working hard to combat his complacency he's gone the opposite direction and become the one thing no rapper should ever be - the old dude in the room everybody's snickering at because he thinks he's being cool when he's not.

2 shines when Joe is not chasing formulaic records, the cookie cutter style he often uses makes this album lose its impact.

2, he tried to emulate that feeling by selecting a host of commercially-viable producers (Jim Jonsin, Rico Love and–gulp–Ron Browz, included) and failed miserably by deviating away from his core fan base.