Tarantula received a generally positive reception from music critics who saw it as an improvement over Let's Get Ready in terms of production and topics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score out of 68, based on 7 reviews. AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier praised the album for its production complimenting Mystikal's frenetic delivery, saying that "he has recorded his second great album in a row." Despite finding filler in the album, HipHopDX writer Wise Q praised it for continuing the previous album's formula of great production and wordplay, concluding that, "On the whole, the wild haired lyricist has made a good attempt at a follow-up and although it may not be five star status, it is definitely one for the collection." Kitty Empire of NME commented on how Mystikal is able to deviate from the typical hip-hop clichés and deliver tracks that express different topics, singling out the post-9/11 track "Bouncin' Back " for providing real substance and found it "strangely compelling for a show of strength." Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club found the album more focused and consistent than Let's Get Ready because of Mystikal's production team showing improvement, saying that "Tarantula suggests that the raspy-voiced rapper's run at the top of the charts won't abate any time soon." Vibe writer Shawn Edwards was critical of Mystikal's delivery, complimenting it for being distinctive but lacking in lyrical creativity, saying that he "has the potential to be the ringmaster, but right now he seems content just clowning around." In 2003, the album received two nominations at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album and Best Male Rap Solo Performance for "Boucin' Back " but lost both awards to Eminem's The Eminem Show and Nelly's "Hot in Herre", respectively. In 2011, Complex ranked the album number 43 on its list of "The 50 Worst Rap Album Fails". Complex editor Chris Yuscavage called it a let-down compared to his previous album saying, "With all eyes on the rapid-fire spitter, Mystikal seriously dropped the ball with Tarantula, his phoned-in follow-up that dropped only one year later. Even with reliable collaborators like The Neptunes, Scott Storch, and KLC, every song on the LP felt like a half-baked imitation of his previous work."
