Critical Reception
"Heard 'Em Say" received unanimously positive reviews and is often cited by fans and critics alike as one of West's best songs. In a review of Late Registration, PopMatters described the song, saying, "With its sweet piano chords and Levine's gentle cooing, the track is probably the best hip-hop lullaby to come along since Slick Rick's 'Children's Story'. As Kanye preaches, 'Nothing's ever promised tomorrow, today.'" Time magazine music critic Josh Tyrangiel listed "Heard 'Em Say" as one of the three best tracks on the album and characterized it as an "atmospheric ballad" which displayed "the stealthy power of West's storytelling." Slant Magazine music reviewer Eric Henderson likened Adam Levine's falsetto delivery of the song's "delicate chorus" to that of a "butterfly singing" while Rolling Stone compared his vocal performance to that of Stevie Wonder. 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." Robert Christgau concurred with this sentiment and similarly voiced his approval of the complex yet subtle musicality of the composition, highlighting the Chinese bells and berimbau found in the coda.
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