West's 2007 hit single "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was passed on to him by American rapper and his Def Jam labelmate Young Jeezy, who performs ad-libs on the song.

[2] The rapper recalled that West was initially reluctant to guest on the single due to his time on hiatus, before calling him back 10 minutes later and performing his verse.

"[6][7] In a 2019 interview for Complex, fellow rapper Consequence likened West's ninth studio album Jesus Is King from that year to 808s & Heartbreak creatively; he cited writing the chorus to "Amazing" as part of his challenging involvement.

[8] The song was produced by West and co-produced by his frequent collaborator Victor Alexander; the pair co-wrote it with Malik Yusef, Consequence, and Young Jeezy.

[14] This problem was partly created by bravado, as masculine pride has long been used as a force for the obliteration of vulnerability in rap, such as usage by DMX and the Geto Boys.

In a positive review, Alex Macpherson of The Guardian pointed to Young Jeezy's guest appearance as being among "the isolated moments of levity" on 808s & Heartbreak that "are a relief".

[24] Writing for NPR, Oliver Wang thought "the haunting cross-section of tender pianos" and the rapper's "menace" on the song showcase the album's "fantastic raw sounds".

[11] The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica saw the "visceral" Young Jeezy collaboration as sounding like "it were recorded inside a whirring old grandfather clock, a collection of precisely moving parts neatly interlocking — classic Kanye".

[18] Spin journalist Charles Aaron noted the song's potential to be part of "a greatest-hits comp one day and be accepted as Kanyeezy standards", attributing this to Young Jeezy's "welcome bluster of sodium-deficient thug-you-can-hug".

[26] For Urb, Brandon Perkins felt the song "delicately plods along beautiful builds" up to the point that "the bottom drops out" and the rapper performs his verse with a "monstrous (and yet understated) flair".

[27] He elaborated, chronicling that the background vocals combined with the beats "conveys a toughness even while the song creeps forward with gentle melancholy", going on to describe Young Jeezy's feature as perfectly chosen for "the cold atmosphere" of 808s & Heartbreak.

[27] In Vibe, Jozen Cummings graded the song as the album's "true triumph" due to the "drums reminiscent of HBCU marching bands and haunting chants", which he said "bridges the gap" between West's love for pop and hip hop "while keeping his musical integrity intact".

[16] Wilson McBee from Slant Magazine saw the song as taking "a ruminative piano riff, West's catchiest tune and a shuffling drumbeat evocative of a broomstick on marble to spin an eerie vision of a kingpin's braggadocio" that prominently shows "disgust and sarcasm" as "Lord Kanye surveys his minions of chipmunk-soul-producers and pink-polo-wearers" to realize "it's worth little more than peanuts".

[19] McBee also regarded Young Jeezy's "joyless, snarling addendum" that features him worrying about his blood pressure and "the inevitability of defeat" to be a suitable "thank you" for West's appearance on "Put On".

[19] The Washington Post's Chris Richards picked "Amazing" as one of the album's tracks that should be downloaded, a sentiment also held by Steve Jones of USA Today and Josh Eells of Blender.

[28][29][30] In a mixed review for No Ripcord, Cara Nash said although the song "may prove more commercially viable" than others on 808s & Heartbreak, she was disappointed in how Young Jeezy's vocals disrupt the album's "introspective flow".

[31] Scott Plagenhoef from Pitchfork was negative about the song, calling it one of 808s & Heartbreak's "low points" and blaming Young Jeezy's appearance by opining that "when the mood is broken up by outsiders or actual rapping, the results aren't pretty".

[32] The Boston Globe's James Reed criticized West's songwriting on the "shockingly shallow hook" because of "so amazing" being repeated, complaining that not even the rapper's feature adds "much life" to the song, stating he "sound[s] like he's just snuffed out his 100th cigarette of the day".

[35][36] The music video for "Amazing" was filmed in Kauai, Hawaii and directed by frequent collaborator Hype Williams, who rented a helicopter with West for it; there was a high production value.

[43] For Stereogum, Amrit Singh claimed that the "aerial shots of Hawaii are inherently amazing" and wrote of West's appearance that "seeing him contemplating nature by his lonesome has a certain poetry to it".

[60] West spoke about the story behind the song and in the middle of the performance, he complained about being scrutinized by the media, before issuing an apology for "acting like a bitch at award shows".

[64] For his headlining set for the 2009 Wireless Festival at Hyde Park in London, West performed the song as he rocked his customary aviator shades and black suit jacket.

[66] Staging glitches impacted the show, with the rapper's microphone being switched off at parts, and West stopping and restarting the music towards the end of the song while attempting to complain, "This is one of the best dress rehearsals...so please excuse..."[69] "Amazing" was used by the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 2009 playoffs as part of their advertisement campaign, with players such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant being sequenced playing basketball alongside the audio.