Canal Street Confidential was met with mixed reviews from music critics. David Jeffries of AllMusic said, "It's another lark from a man who has taken plenty of them before, and while some may look to his major-label efforts for the more well-rounded LPs, they can check the Pilot Talk series for that kind of breadth, and appreciate Canal Street Confidential for the sharp and well-executed idea that it is."[5] Ryan Staskel of Consequence of Sound gave the album a D+, saying "What we have here is an artist in cruise control taking a premature victory lap. If the Pilot Talk trilogy is Curren$y’s sky-high flight of fancy, then Canal Street Confidential feels more like a cab ride the day after a late night. “Roll one up for them haters,” Franklin rhymes on Canal Street Confidential. With that I ask, does anyone have a light?"[6] Jesse Fairfax of HipHopDX said, "Largely unmemorable and full of cameos that only wind up watering down Curren$y’s potential for excellence, Canal Street Confidential is a textbook case of an artist with a cult following attempting to make use of a greater budget. Possibly the result of label interference, he trades innovation for collaborations that neither guarantee new fans or manage to impress believers."[7]
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