E-40, a rapper born in Vallejo, California, released eight solo albums prior to My Ghetto Report Card dating back to 1993.

[1] By the late 1990s and early 2000s, E-40 began doing guest features on Southern rappers' albums, such as MP da Last Don by Master P, My Homies by Scarface, and Kings of Crunk by Lil Jon and the East Side Boyz.

[8] Two songs from My Ghetto Report Card were released as singles, starting with "Tell Me When To Go" featuring fellow Bay Area rapper Keak da Sneak.

"[15] In a largely negative review, Tom Breihan of Pitchfork called the production of Lil Jon and Rick Rock "more exhausting than exhilarating.

"[4] Breihan compared the sound of "Yay Area" to "robots malfunctioning" due to "frantic off-kilter drums, high-pitched synth squeals, [and] gurgling staccato vocal samples.

"[4] Due to the success of "Tell Me When to Go" and hyphy-themed songs on radio and MTV, the East Bay Express and Oakland Tribune speculated that My Ghetto Report Card would become E-40's mainstream breakout album.

[21][22] By May 2006, Jim Harrington of the Oakland Tribune observed that a concert sponsored by local radio station Wild 94.9 "crowned E-40 as the new king of hip-hop.