[9] "'B' Movie" is a criticism of Ronald Reagan, whose image appears on the album cover in one of the lenses of Scott-Heron's glasses.

[9] Robert Christgau called "'B' Movie" Scott-Heron's "smartest political rap ever"; Knight Ridder deemed it "a bitter tour de force.

"[12][15] The Tucson Citizen labeled the album Scott-Heron's "slicing philosophy of America's determined return to the years before social conscience and civil rights.

"[19] The Guardian concluded that, "unlike some of those he influenced, Scott-Heron had enough intellectual and musical flexibility to ensure that his medium wasn't crushed under the ponderous weight of his message.

"[14] AllMusic wrote that the cover of "Inner City Blues" "swings convincingly, [but] has a lengthy spoken-word riff that fails to embellish on the pain implicit in the original.