"Hot like Fire" was described as "sleek" "fine Trip hop"[1][2] and it is a "panting minimalist controlled-blaze baby-maker" with suggestive lyrics.

[1] According to Emily Manning from i-D, the songs remix "features a sizzling, soulful, and bouncing beat (plus an ad-lib Tim ripped from Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner")".

[9] According to Bob Waliszewski's review on the website Focus on the Family, the song "celebrates passionate sex-without suggesting a marital context".

[10] In his biography Aaliyah (2021) author Tim Footman, compared the songs lyrics to the content from her debut album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994).

[11] According to footman, "With the more sexually explicit tracks on the debut album, the listener was painfully aware of a young girl mouthing grown-up sentiments.

[8] Bianca Gracie from Fuse also felt the remix was better than the original version, also saying that Timbaland "added his magic hip-hop-infused touch to the steamy track, which was anchored by Aaliyah's laidback vocals".

[12] Dean Van Nguyen from The Independent said, on "Hot Life Fire, Aaliyah fully emerges on the horizon, her voice cutting through the atmospherics and seeping into your ears.

"[13] Bob Waliszewski of Plugged In, a publication of the Christian conservative organization Focus on the Family, was less enthusiastic in his review of One in a Million, writing that the sexually suggestive lyrics of "Hot Like Fire" "spoil whatever good this disc has going for it".

[19] The accompanying music video for "Hot Like Fire" was directed by Lance "Un" Rivera; Fatima Robinson orchestrated the choreography.

[22] The setting quickly changes to nighttime, with Aaliyah performing the chorus on a steamy stage filled with red lights and pyrotechnics in the background.

[23] In 2013, American R&B singer Solange and British indie pop group The xx covered "Hot Like Fire" at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

[31] Bassist Oliver Sim sang the first verse of the song while his fellow group member Romy Madley Croft backed him in the performance.

[31] Jeff Benjamin from Fuse praised the performance, saying: "Solange's sweet vocals sounded right at home on The xx-ified version of Aaliyah's track.