enemies and soul crushers". Alexis Petridis panned the record as "messy" and "inconsequential", mostly because of what he felt were her clichéd self-help lyrics and self-indulgent monologues: "A scant handful of powerful moments, including a furious meditation on the police shooting of a young black man, 'I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel)', are outweighed by repetitious rambling." In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau called it one of the "worst album[s] ever released by an artist of substance", finding the songs overlong, verbose, and unmelodic. Christgau was also critical of Hill's singing voice, calling it typically poor, and of "a solo guitar [she] can barely strum (the first finger-picked figure occurs on track 10, where it repeats dozens upon dozens of times, arghh)." Some critics appreciated MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 as a radical and bold change in direction by Hill. In a positive review, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann conceded that Hill's spoken interludes sounded vain and foolish but still felt the album was "fascinating" as an "unfinished, unflinching presentation of ideas and of a person". Q was more enthusiastic, finding her songs beautifully sincere and performed austerely in a way that recalled the vibrant quality of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" (1980). "Mystery of Iniquity" was nominated at the 45th Grammy Awards for Best Female Rap Solo Performance. Legacy Critical reappraisal Over time many critics have reevaluated MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, which has gained more acclaim and positive reviews. In a retrospective review for Albumism, Daryl McIntosh wrote "MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 is one of the most unique albums ever captured on tape. One that points straight into the soul of this once-in-a-lifetime artist in raw form, exposing both the brilliance that we fell in love with when we first heard her voice and the fragility of the human spirit." Katy Iandoli of Revolt praised the album's socially driven material, stating that the songs "I Get Out" and "Mr. Intentional" are now the constructs of modern-day thinkpieces rooted in self-empowerment and "letting go", while referring to the album as "ahead of its time". Journalist Andy Greene of Rolling Stone commended the album, calling it "the most unique, unpolished Unplugged ever to see the light of day", placing it on his list of the 15 best episodes from the MTV Unplugged series. The New York Times hailed the album as a "classic performance", with journalist Noel Murray referring to it as a "mesmerizing