Virgin Media reviewed the single as "an accomplished piece of production" commenting on its "poignant sample ... the cascading piano melody which runs throughout, alongside tumbling delayed beats, a parping bass synth and the odd interjection of subtle acoustic guitar." Writing for "Village Voice", rock critic Robert Christgau concurred with this sentiment and voiced his approval of the complex yet subtle musicality of the composition, highlighting the Chinese bells and berimbau found in its coda. Bansky Gonzalez from Uproxx remarked that the sonic versatility makes for an exhilarating ride, distinguishing the piece as "somber and painstakingly thoughtful." Joey DeGroot for "Music Times" lists "Heard 'Em Say" as being one of a few hip-hop songs that he considered to be "straight up beautiful." He compared it to Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M.", Nas' "One Love" and Biggie's "Juicy." A decade later, while interviewing Bill Plympton, Jen Yamato from "The Daily Beast" retrospectively referred to "Heard 'Em Say" as "the mournfully soulful 2005 single." "Complex" ranked "Heard 'Em Say" as West's eighty-second best song, writing, "The track featured luscious piano chords with Levine gently crooning atop them. But despite the song sounding like a hip-hop lullaby, Kanye was kicking that real shit. While 'Heard Em Say' might’ve sounded light-hearted and friendly, the content definitely wasn’t." Sharing similar sentiments, a columnist from "Paste" bestowed "Heard 'Em Say" with much acclaim and ranked it as West's fifty-third best album track. He elaborated, ""Late Registration" starts with Kanye waking up, but 'Heard ‘Em Say' plays like a soothing lullaby with some bite to it." It was listed in Capital XTRA as one of 18 songs for “those who miss the old Kanye West”. It was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Song Collaboration at the 2007 Groovevolt Music and Fashion Awards. "Pitchfork" named it the tenth best song of 2005.