The song's instrumental samples the drums and bass from "Heartbeat" by Taana Gardner and guitar notes from "Hung Up on My Baby" by Isaac Hayes.

[2] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic noted that the song "lifts a line from "Land of 1000 Dances", and places it on an infectious dancehall beat – it's a great single that deserved to be a huge hit.

"[3] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Reggae-splashed pop/hip-hopper is fueled by a prominent sample of Taana Gardner's disco chestnut "Heartbeat".

"[6] British magazine Music Week's RM Dance Update complimented the song as a "catchy funk anthem doing the business in the US".

[7] An editor, James Hamilton, described it as a "lyrical gangster's madly infectious US smash reggae jiggler using the 'naa na-na-naa' chant from 'Land of a 1000 Dances'".

Kamoze is a Kingston native, a vet of four supposedly respectable albums, an author and playwright, but on this Top Ten hit, he could be Jah Blatt from down the block.

"[10] Steve Pick from St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, "With this cut, he's distilled most of the stylistic variants of his competitors, sweetened them with some goof hooks and come up with a breakthrough pop record that threatens to keep folks dancing for the next several years.

[14][15] The single climbed into the top 10 in Austria, Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Savage designed a t-shirt, Excuse Me Mister Officer (Murderer), named for a line in the song's pre-chorus, to honor victims of police brutality, the proceeds from which he donated to various US- and New York-based anti-prison organizations.

[36] In Extreme Championship Wrestling, the famous entrance of tag team The Public Enemy (not to be confused with the rap group of the same name) included "Here Comes the Hotstepper".

[92] In 2021, Philadelphia-based musician and social media personality Pat Finnerty enlisted Dr. Dog to cover the track for the "Hey, Soul Sister" episode of his YouTube series, What Makes This Song Stink.