In a 2016 retrospective review, Patrick Corcoran from Albumism said, "As lyrically scathing as anything he'd written to that point, it included the scarily prescient line "anything's better than a picture of a child in a cloud of gas"." He added, "Capturing the zeitgeist as
Iraq was invaded for the first time, but also heartbreakingly, perpetually relevant to our times too,
Prince's restrained delivery fits perfectly."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine from
AllMusic noted the "extraordinary
Philly soul" of "the neglected masterpiece", viewing it as a "terrific"
pop single. Mike Diver for the
BBC in 2010, stated in his 2010 review, that "there's no doubting "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" is the heart and soul of this album. A slow-paced strut, the track's a celebration of realising that hard cash isn't the be all and end all of one's existence".
Simon Price from
The Guardian named the song as a "highlight" from the album in 2016, describing it as "thoughtfully mature". Another
The Guardian editor,
Alexis Petridis, said it is "a fantastic song, the smoothness of its sound and delivery masking a punchy, politically engaged lyric that takes in both consumerism and
Operation Desert Storm." ==Music videos==