Spin (5/99, p.155) - "...Smith's ragga-gruff delivery is every bit as intriguing as what's happening behind the boards. Familiar to heads who checked the FUNKUNGFUSION and BLACK WHOLE STYLES compilations, Manuva shifts from abstract to narrative with offhand skill, aiming toward a Euro-American hip-hop future full of deep, dubby possibilities."

Alternative Press (6/99, p.109) - 3 (out of 5) - "...the tones come from intelligent jungle and ambient. It's cool to experience British-oriented spine-tingling, neo-electro tones working with hip-hop (rather than jungle or techno) beats..."

Muzik (1/00, p.69) - Ranked #12 in Muzik's "Albums Of The Year '99" - "...The muddy, mucky, dub-inspired beats should make most trip hop producers hang their heads in shame."

Melody Maker (5/1/99, p.36) - 4 1/2 stars (out of 5) - "...a prodigious talent like Roots Manuva has its own urban-realist take on breakbeat poetry....[his] freestyle flinging is ritualistic and rare. One of the finest, sublimest UK hip hop albums ever made."

NME (Magazine) (4/10/99, p.32) - "...BRAND NEW SECOND HAND runs like a perspicuous, uncanny urban novel, with Roots a smart character amid the disorder..."