An accompanying music video was premiered at the entrance to Shoreditch High Street railway station in February 2012, using split screen kaleidoscopic effects to go between Jay-Z and West performing the song at the Staples Center and footage of their crowd.

[6][7] During a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City for The Yeezus Tour on November 24, 2013, West said that the song would not exist if it was not for singer Lenny Kravitz having been "the first nigga in Paris" with his rock star appearance.

Ferrell laughed when he first listened to the song due to a surreal feel and was appreciative, attempting to film a piece for the video boards of Jay-Z and West's concerts that never materialized.

"[10] It later samples Ferrell talking about how art does not need any meaning when "it's provocative ... it gets the people going",[10][22][23] which appears in the middle of West's verse and was interpreted by Rolling Stone's Matthew Perpetua as summarizing the lyrical style of hip hop.

[16] The lyrics of "Niggas in Paris" are themed around black empowerment, with Jay-Z and West discussing how they defied the odds of their backgrounds to obtain extensive wealth and success.

[27][31][41] West references the royal theme of Watch the Throne by imagining himself as Prince William of Wales in the wake of his marriage to Catherine Middleton, deciding he would instead marry the twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

[48] Jay-Z and West invoked the cover for "Why I Love You", which was released as a single to rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States simultaneously with "Niggas in Paris" on September 13, 2011, through their record labels Def Jam, Roc Nation, and Roc-A-Fella.

Writing for Pitchfork, Tom Breihan was impressed with the song's "propulsive synth riff and gigantic drums" as Jay-Z showcases his technical rap skills, while he highlighted West's lyrics about his apparent illness.

[23] Michaelangelo Matos of The Guardian called the "percolating track" a standout on Watch the Throne and felt it invokes Wiley's production, comparing the "sick sub-bass" and a snare to static.

[34] Paste's Ryan Reed asserted that the song proves why Jay-Z and West seemingly operating on a basis of using their first takes is good, praising its hypnotic feel.

Reed considered that Jay-Z's "rhythmic gymnastics feel like spontaneous genius" despite him sounding fully possessed, while he found the "simple, synth-driven beat" to be a strong match for the minimal production.

[53] For Prefix Mag, Dave Park praised Jay-Z's lyrics about his past and commented how West "stop[s] at nothing to match wares with his one-time idol", interjecting himself after his lines.

[20] Nathan S. from DJ Booth named the song as one from Watch the Throne he listened to repeatedly and glorified the excerpts of Ferrell from Blades of Glory, questioning if anyone else would be courageous enough to sample "an obscure [...] figure skating movie on the biggest collaborative album ever".

[30] David Amidon of PopMatters observed the song's West Coast "blog rap bop" and how it feels like the true start of the album from the position of track number three.

For Urb, James Shahan felt that though West uses his signature punchline style in a humorous manner, Jay-Z's verse comes across as "one big laundry list" of his material possessions.

Padania commented that the song functions suitably as "loud, obnoxious rap music" once listeners look past "the ringtone melody" and excessive bragging, although considered "Niggas in Paris" a cringeworthy title and criticized its heavy resemblance to fellow rapper Big Sean's Finally Famous (2011).

[36] Providing a negative review for Beats Per Minute, Sean Highkin wrote it off as sounding like a Waka Flocka Flame song with "30 seconds of dubstep stapled to the end".

[19] The song was named as the 12th best track of 2011 by Pitchfork, whose author Ryan Dombal wrote that West's hah ad-lib successfully summarizes the "one-percent-ness of Watch the Throne" as he commended the lyrical style of him and Jay-Z.

[57] Rolling Stone named the song the second best single of 2011, with the staff praising the "minimalist thunder pegged to a tweedling synth line" and the lyrical opulence.

[27] XXL crowned "Niggas In Paris" as the best song of the year and the staff praised the direction of the bouncy production as Jay-Z and West "took balling to new frontiers", noting its club appeal too.

[32] That same year, Pitchfork placed the song at number 36 on their list and Kyle Kramer considered it "the crown jewel" of the opulence of Watch the Throne and the exception to the album's production due to the simplistic beat.

[44] In 2019, Business Insider ranked the track as the 35th best song of the decade and Stereogum named it as the 11th best; Tom Breihan highlighted the chemistry of Jay-Z flaunting his wealth and West boasting of his rap skills.

[63][64] Also in 2018, Rolling Stone crowned the song as the 58th best of the 21st century so far and the staff praised its "over-the-top indulgence", as well as the hook that makes fun of haters and the "dark truth underlying the mayhem" of the lyrical content.

[74] On February 9, 2012, Jay-Z and West premiered the music video for "Niggas in Paris" with a projection at the front of East London's Shoreditch High Street railway station.

[77] The video followed "Otis" as the second visual from Watch the Throne, with its footage taken from the rappers' concert at Los Angeles' Staples Center on their accompanying tour in December 2011.

[82][83] The video utilizes split screen kaleidoscopic effects to jump from Jay-Z and West performing the song at the Staples Center to footage of the crowd,[78][83] which mostly features models.

[138] West brought out Jay-Z as a special guest to perform the song at the 2011 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at Lexington Avenue Armory in New York City, where Beyoncé was in attendance.

[157] On March 19, 2012, singer Katy Perry delivered an acoustic cover version of "Niggas in Paris" with a backing band for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge special, censoring the explicit language.

Katy Perry edited lines to phrases like "ninjas in London" and "that so cray", prefacing the performance by announcing it would become "real embarrassing" and she wore a New York Yankees cap as Jay-Z has done.

[164][165] On January 16, 2012, rapper Mos Def, under his real name of Yasiin Bey, shared his version of the song titled "Niggas in Poorest" for his Top 40 Underdog series of remade radio hits and this coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.