Cheat Codes (album)

The first single from the album, "No Gold Teeth", was issued on May 11, 2022.[5] It was accompanied by a promotional video directed by the creative team UNCANNY, in which Black Thought raps while his head is permanently obscured by changing images.

The second single to be released was "Because" on June 8.[6] This was promoted by another UNCANNY directed video, released nearly a month later on July 7.[7]

A third single and accompanying video, "Aquamarine", followed on July 13.[8] The final pre-LP single, "Strangers", emerged on August 9, three days before the album's release.[9] A promotional video for the song followed on August 12 to coincide with the release of the album.[10]

After the album's release, a video for the MF DOOM collaboration, "Belize", was released on October 18.[11]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Beats Per Minute	78%[14]
Clash	8/10[15]
The Guardian	[16]
HipHopDX	4.6/5[17]
NME	[18]
Pitchfork	7.2/10[19]
Rolling Stone	[20]

Upon release, Cheat Codes was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 83, based on 17 reviews.[12]

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Andy Kellman described it as a combination of "'60s and '70s psych, prog, and soul recordings that are moody, trippy, and sometimes eerie. The crisp if soot-coated drums, smeared strings, moaning organs, and gnarled guitars are all very compatible with Thought, who scythes through it all with unparalleled wordplay delivered with surgical precision."[13]

Former US President Barack Obama listed "Belize" as one of his favourite tracks of 2022.[21]

• Black Thought – vocals, engineering
• Danger Mouse – production, engineering
• Kennie Takahashi – mixing, engineering
• Bob Weston – mastering
• Jacob Escobedo – cover art
• Samantha Meadows – layout