Trouser Press thought that "Speech shows that he can still construct a lulling, even groovy song cycle, but at this point he just doesn’t have the lyrical chops to give it substance."[16] Entertainment Weekly determined that, "with its rapturous echoes of Sly, Stevie, and Prince, Speech by Speech, the boss of the defunct Arrested Development, is more arresting than anyone had a right to expect."[12] The Knoxville News Sentinel concluded that the album "restores some of the initial promise of his group Arrested Development before the band burned out in a blaze of self-importance a couple of years ago."[13]
Vibe called the album "a mess," noting Speech's "desire to become the male Tracy Chapman."[17] The Boston Globe praised Speech's "gift for poppy, smoothly persuasive hip-hop, rather than the gnashing, in-your-face variety."[18] The New York Times stated that "the sound is rawer and less produced and layered than Arrested Development's music... Where Arrested Development sounded like many streams flowing into a single river, the styles, beats and words on Speech all seem to flow from a single stream-of-consciousness."[8]
AllMusic wrote that, "where his former group sounded rootsy and gritty even at their most laid-back, Speech's record sounds slick, generally lacking in funk or dirt."[11]
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