Chuck Taylor of Billboard praised the inclusion of the "Hard-Knock Life" sample from "Annie", noting: "It's this kind of clever twist and original thinking that has the potential to expand the horizons of the genre."

[3] Slant Magazine listed "Hard Knock Life" at number 84 in their ranking of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s" in 2011, writing, "Jay-Z’s co-opting of a discordant, already famous showtune is a rare novel endeavor in a genre generally defined by following the leader; it’s pulled off so seamlessly that it’s easy to forget what a ballsy move it was.

The transformation of the original’s piano base into a thumping organ creep sets the stage, but it’s undeniably Jay-Z, transparently showing off his executive command by fussing with the levels at the start, which makes the song.

The source material and the resulting product may seem diametrically opposed, but they end up being fundamentally about the same thing: forming a common thread of struggles with poverty spun into gold.

[38] Comedy rap trio Sudden Death parodied the song on their album Die Laughing (2005), titled "Star Trek Life".