In an interview with Zane Lowe, Killer Mike called the album both his "come home moment musically", due to it being influenced by gospel, soul, funk and hip hop, and his "submission to God, like, 'Okay, you got me.'" He also characterized it as his way of honoring "the civil rights movement, the abolitionist movement, which gave us some of the most beautiful music ever".[2]
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Michael received an average score of 77 based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[4]
Ed Lawson of DIY called it a "sonically rich record that is likely to reveal yet more on each listen" as "there's something about the vignettes he paints on Michael [...] that suggests that while he's seemed an open book so far, there's still plenty for him to reveal".[6]Rolling Stone's Mosi Reeves felt that "despite the sometimes-overwrought musical backdrop, Killer Mike remains an incisive and compelling lyricist who confidently takes Michael into unexpected places" and that the rapper "focuses on his personal life, particularly his late mother and grandmother, with uncharacteristic empathy and restraint, even as he continues to utilize his uniquely brusque vocal style".[10]
David Smyth of the Evening Standard opined that "here [Killer Mike is] still vivid and passionate on what it means to be a black man today, but now with a more personal slant". Smyth also found there to be "a few more commercial moments, such as what counts nowadays as a rare guest appearance from Outkast's Andre 3000 over the futuristic synths of "Scientists & Engineers", and a skyscraping turn from another Atlanta man, CeeLo Green, on Down by Law. But this is really all about what it's like to be Mike, and it's a fascinating tale".[7] Ben Devlin of musicOMH wrote that the album "delivers virtuosity, emotion and excellence" and that one of its "greatest achievements is that it's such a personal, heartfelt record despite so many other rappers and singers coming along for the ride".[8]
Slant Magazine's Steve Erickson remarked that Michael "emphasizes Killer Mike's Atlanta heritage by harkening back to a style of Southern rap influenced by gospel, soul, and blues" and although most songs "rel[y] on a similar arrangement of choirs, pianos, and organs, which risks becoming tiresome, [...] its sonic divergence from most mainstream American hip-hop today is refreshing".[1] Dylan Green of Pitchfork described the album as "an origin story that works best when it examines how worshiping at the altars of sex, money, and Jesus created the man we know today. But when he petulantly doubles down on critiques of his public persona and status as a Black multi-millionaire, the album is harder to stomach."[9] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Paul Simpson declared that, "Michael can get overbearing at times" but also noted that, "the production is generally stellar, and it's easily the rapper's most honest and emotional work."[5]
