[5][1] The release of Stillmatic was an attempt by Nas to reestablish his credibility in the hip-hop community, with the title signifying his intentions to continue where Illmatic left off.

"[17] John Bush from AllMusic said: "Dropping many of the mainstream hooks and featured performers in order to focus his rapping, Nas proves he's still a world-class rhymer, but he does sound out of touch in the process of defending his honor.

Rolling Stone magazine's Kathryn McGuire said: "Striving to maintain street cred while reaching for pop success has left Nas vacillating clumsily on past projects, and this record is riddled with similar inconsistencies.

One moment he casts himself as a gritty cat who feels most at home on a project bench, calling out neighborhood snakes ('Destroy and Rebuild') and ducking gunshots ('One Mic').

'"[14] In The Village Voice's "Consumer Guide", Robert Christgau found the release unworthy of a review and instead relegated it to a listing of ungraded "duds" in the column.

In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Chris Ryan wrote that Stillmatic "finds Nas sticking with what works, creative storyraps and trenchant social commentary.

"[1] Writing in the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin commended Nas for "rebuilding his creative and commercial standing" in the early 2000s with Stillmatic.

[20] In 2005, Chris Rock compiled a list of his Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums of all time, to which he ranked Stillmatic at number 20, commenting "It's like Mama Said Knock You Out eleven years earlier, where a guy just reclaimed his spot with some great records".