"Heaven" was met with generally positive reviews, with most critics praising it over the hit
lead single, another Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake collaboration, "
Holy Grail". Ian Cohen of
Pitchfork
praised the song as one of the album's strong points, stating, "Heaven" is the most thought-provoking spiritual meditation [Jay-Z's] written, and the willful misreading of "Losing My Religion" is used to powerful effect. David Weiss of
Paste credited "Heaven" for setting off the most interesting section of the album, ending at the
Beyoncé-featuring "
Part II (On the Run)". Del F. Cowie of
Exclaim! said the song's production "sounded like a long-lost
Wu-Tang instrumental somehow bereft of an
Inspectah Deck verse." Louis Pattison of
NME gave a more mixed review, related to Jay-Z not taking full advantage of the subject matter. Grant Jones of RapReviews said of the song: "The piercing "Heaven" starts off well, with an intriguing defense of Illuminati rumours from Jay, but shortly falls back on his lavish lifestyle, using
Maybachs and
Lamborghinis as metaphors for angels." In a negative review, Colin McGuire of
PopMatters called the R.E.M. sample awkward and cheesy. Mike Diver of
Clash also discredited Jay-Z for not taking advantage of the "rich imagery" of the R.E.M. sample. == Charts ==