"Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" has been one of the most widely discussed tracks from De La Soul Is Dead. It has been described by AllMusic as one of "the album's most powerful moments", and by Rolling Stone as a "tour de force" that "summon[s] its power through the subtle use of metaphor".[1][2] Retrospective reviews have also identified the song as one of the most prominent examples of De La Soul's exploration of darker topics on De La Soul Is Dead as compared to the group's previous work.[3][4] A more negative appraisal of "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" came from Entertainment Weekly, where reviewer David Browne felt that the track's efficacy was undermined by De La Soul's "mild-mannered rapping".[5]
Legacy
Producer Prince Paul would later revive one of the samples in the Full Mix of "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" to use in "Mommy, What's a Gravedigga?" by Gravediggaz.
Hip-Hop duo Atmosphere recorded a sequel, titled "Millie Fell off the Fire Escape," on their free mixtape Leak at Will in 2009. In Atmosphere's song, Millie runs away after murdering her father, contemplates going back to tell the police that she killed her father because of the sexual abuse he put her through, but instead keeps running until she sees an abandoned factory. As she climbs a ladder to get into the building, the police finally catch up with her and tell her to come down. Millie slips, falls off the ladder, and dies when she hits the ground.
