Trendsetter was met with mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 60 based on four reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". TiVo Staff of AllMusic described the album as "more of a trend follower than anything", adding that "loose ideas that could conceivably be cleaned up for a Doja Cat album, the main issue is that there's a lack of originality and unique spirit to set these tracks apart from any number of similar-sounding songs by other more capable artists" and "in addition to often sleepy and forgettable production, Leray's flow leaves much to be desired", and even the guest artists do not make the album exciting. HipHopDX music critic Anthony Malone stated that "the faults in Trendsetter come mostly because she relies on the star power brought by her guests but negates her ability to identify herself within the music" and that "she likely has a future in the industry, but to stand on her own, she will need to start setting the trends, rather than following them". Joshua Robinson of HotNewHipHop opined that "thanks to its producers and featured artists, Coi Leray's album is filled with entertaining performances from some of the most well-known rappers in the music industry", adding that "even when Coi sidesteps the shadows of her high-profile contributors to deliver a respectable amount of solo cuts, Trendsetter remains an album that's hard to truly despise" and "its vast array of sounds to its cast of supporting contributors, Trendsetter is so deeply embedded in contemporary Hip-Hop that listeners much decide whether they hate Coi Leray or the current state of rap". Pitchfork music critic Dylan Green "as a whole, Trendsetter is too wide-ranging and unfocused to scan as the proper debut she aspires for it to be", "but when she does lock in, her mission couldn’t be clearer". Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone felt that "despite being a splashy, major label-backed coming-out party for Leray, Trendsetter can sound provocatively weird" and "her lyrics can come off awkward and forced". Singles The lead single of the album, the remix of Leray's 2021 single, "No More Parties", features American rapper Lil Durk and was released on February 19, 2021. The second single, "Big Purr (Prrdd)", which features American rapper Pooh Shiesty, was released on March 26, 2021.