Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| Los Angeles Daily News | |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| The New York Times | favorable |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Source | |
| Spin | 9/10 |
| Vibe | favorable |
The New York Times writer Neil Strauss called the album "one of the year's best rap offerings" and wrote that "The Roots move indiscriminately from politically conscious lyrics (not just about black America but also about Bosnia, the Olympics and terrorism) to silly rhymes ('roam like a cellular phone/far from home')". The Philadelphia Inquirer gave it 3½ out of 4 stars and wrote that "while it doesn't sacrifice a smidgen of street-level intensity, it reaffirms just how far-reaching (and how far removed from the gangsta stereotype) hip-hop can be". Giving it 4½ out of 5 mics, The Source magazine called it "a thoughtful musical endeavor... an emotional and spiritually fulfilling aural experience". Spin described it as "an artistic progression, and added confirmation of the Roots' place at hip-hop's vanguard", giving it a 9/10 rating. The San Diego Union-Tribune's Jeff Niesel gave it 3 out of 4 stars, stating "the Roots find the perfect mixture of jazz and hip-hop for their songs about the hardships of urban life".
The Village Voice's Robert Christgau gave the album a (neither) rating, which indicates a record that "may impress once or twice with consistent craft or an arresting track or two. Then it won't.". However, Illadelph Halflife was ranked number 33 on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop Critics Poll of 1996. A 2004 retrospective review by Rolling Stone rates the album with 4 out of 5 stars and perceives it as an improvement over The Roots's previous work, stating "The messages grew more focused on 1996's Illadelph Halflife, which includes several strident anti-gangsta tirades and taunts. Black Thought replaced the bellicose, confrontational bravado of so many rappers with discussions of fidelity and responsibility".
Read more about this topic: Illadelph Halflife
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)
“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind of reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended with it.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)