The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised its catchiness and contagiousness, and picked it as a stand-out track.

A music video, directed by Charles Infante and Dave Meyers, was released in October 2002 and features Braxton being chased by her ex.

After the success of her third studio album, The Heat (2000) and its lead single "He Wasn't Man Enough", which led her to win a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Braxton promised an upbeat new album, saying, "People like the slow, miserable love songs of Toni Braxton, but maybe the Prozac is working now, so let's give 'em some happier songs.

"[2] She started recording the album in March 2001, claiming that after a few tough years, she had a new personal happiness to bring to her music, part of that, she said, stems from her engagement to Keri Lewis of Mint Condition.

"[3] "Hit the Freeway" was released in early October 2002, and was the first and only single taken from More Than a Woman, due to Braxton's second pregnancy announced in the same month.

[8] "Hit the Freeway" is a "saucy", uptempo and synth-driven hip-hop and R&B song, in which Braxton serves a flame his walking papers.

[11] Keysha Davis of BBC Music called the chorus "eagerly contagious", writing that, "What at first sounds like a quintessential Neptunes track - melodic synthesiser, staged handclaps and funky drum patterns - later transpires into an impressive slice of pop R&B.

"[14] A Bland Is Out There review was also mixed, writing that "Loon's appearance is insignificant and poor", while "The Neptunes overpower the music with their beats, leaving her buried underneath."

"[9] In the United States, "Hit the Freeway" only managed to peak at number 86, becoming Braxton's lowest charting-single since "Spanish Guitar" (2000).

[19] The music video for "Hit the Freeway", directed by Charles Infante and Dave Meyers, was shot in Los Angeles, in September 2002.