 "Fact" journalist Joseph Morpurgo called it an autobiographical "triumph of breadth" and a "wide-ranging, far-reaching success".Jaeki Cho of "XXL" hailed "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" as "one of the most cohesive bodies of work in recent rap memory" and wrote that each song sounded "both complexly arranged and sonically fitting, foregrounding Kendrick's vivid lyricism and amazing control of cadence".In "The Irish Times", Jim Carroll viewed it as an entertaining and forward-thinking that nonetheless echoed the past era of West Coast hip hop.