Heidi Siegmund Cuda from
Los Angeles Times said, "On tracks like 'I Got 5 on It', the two keep their feet so close to
East Oakland's rough streets they're picking the glass shards off the soles of their shoes."
Simon Price from
Melody Maker commented, "My, is it just me, or doesn't 'I Got 5 on It' have that Single of the Year feel about it already — a classic piece of
West Coastism to follow '
Gin & Juice', '
You Know How We Do It', '
Regulate' and '
Gangsta's Paradise' [...]? Pan-European magazine
Music & Media wrote, "Already a massive smash in the US, this slow rap jam, reminiscent of
Warren G's 'Regulate', has all the potential to emulate that success elsewhere thanks to a sparse production and an irresistible
hook." A reviewer from
Music Week gave the song a score of four out of five, describing it as "catchy US
hip hop that makes use of the melody from
Timex Social Club's mid-Eighties hit '
Thinkin' About Ya'. Has all the prerequisites to sell well."
James Hyman from the
Record Mirror Dance Update commented, "Just like
Jazzy Jeff's infectious '
Summertime', another
Kool & The Gang-inspired laid-back 'n' lazy rap is getting heads nodding everywhere."
Pitchfork ranked it one of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s" in 2022, commenting, "their lone hit, about going 50-50 on a dime bag, and on paper it's a celebration of the rituals and etiquette of social smoking. But the musky, nocturnal beat, built from a corroded sample of R&B group Club Nouveau's late '80s hit 'Why You Treat Me So Bad', turned the track into an exercise in paranoia." ==Track listings==