in the years since its release, "butterfly" has been hailed as being an r&b classic. in a retrospective review for the washington post, bethonie butler focused on the album's impact, stating that it "changed the face of pop music" by paving "the way for other pop stars...to sing alongside their rap contemporaries". writing for jezebel, rich juzwiak focused on the influence of carey's vocal stylings in the track "breakdown", remarking that "in this day and age, when there’s so much genre blending that it’s sometimes impossible to label an artist as merely “singer” or “rapper,” it’d be foolish to understate the prescience of" the song. a profile of the album in essence by jessica littles further stated that the album "catalyzed the pop music trend of collaborating with hip-hop artists", concluding that it "not only showcased her [carey's] already-established prowess as a vocalist, who could belt out ballads or flirt over the hottest summer jams, but also as one of the most versatile songwriters in contemporary music".