The song was met with widespread critical acclaim from critics with the style being compared to that of West's
The College Dropout album. Pitchfork Media's Tom Breiham praised the song, saying "Jay and Kanye trade off
verses and never pause for a
chorus, each one building on whatever the last one said-- an old-school rap-collab style you almost never hear anymore. And since these guys are working loose and casual, it gives them chances to show how funny and clever they are without telegraphing their own importance. Frank Berg of
NME gave the song a mostly positive review, stating that "What we have here are two titans of black music duetting with another from beyond the grave. For that reason, it's unquestionably An Event", though feeling "In all honesty, if this winds up being the highlight of
Watch the Throne we'll all be a bit disappointed." ''.
Seattle Weekly's Joe Williams enjoyed the song, writing "even with the slow, bubbling beat and energetic keyboards, topped with top-notch delivery by Jay and Kay, it's Redding in the background that gives the single its true life and flair." Josiah Hughes of
Exclaim! magazine commented that "if the over-the-top aggression of "
H•A•M" had you worried that this would be a
Waka Flocka ripoff, fear not, as "Otis" makes the most of its Otis Redding sample with some soulful feel-good boom-bap." Sam Gould
The Independent remarked "having seen oddball rap collective
Odd Future become the talking point of the blogosphere,
Eminem and old partner-in-crime
Royce da 5'9" start work on their own bruising
collaborative effort, and hazy vibe rappers
Wiz Khalifa and
Curren$y take steps in the same direction, Jay and Ye have recognized the throne is far from unchallenged, and have come together in the most remarkable dual alliance since
André 3000 and
Big Boi became
Outkast."
The New York Observer writer Foster Kamer mused, "remember early Kanye? These guys finally do. 'Otis' is the perfect anti-single for this album, because it's a reminder that what we always loved about these two collaborating is still very much there. Not only do they not need hooks, neither of them need to remind us that they don't. There was that first line of
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, 'I fantasized 'bout this back in Chicago,' and then, the relief after it, where you didn't have to worry about the rest of that album", and Billboard claimed, "Otis gets better with each play". In an interview with Redding's
widow, Zelma Redding,
Us Weekly reported that Mrs. Redding approved the song, saying "We are proud that Otis' legacy continues to inspire some of today's popular artists. We like 'Otis' and thank Kanye and Jay-Z for honoring our Otis through their music." Pitchfork Media named the song the 42nd best song of 2011. XXL named the song the fifth best of the year, and
Spin named the song the 17th.
Times Claire Suddath placed the song at number four on her best of the year list, writing "the lead single off Watch the Throne mixes and loops Otis Redding's passionate shouts and screams from "Try a Little Tenderness," paying homage to his soulful style while mixing it up by adding heavy beats and chopping up the original track's piano tune."
Complex named the song the 100th best Jay-Z song of all time.
HotNewHipHop named "Otis" one of the 15 greatest sample flips in hip-hop history. ==Remixes==