[1] Talking about the inspiration for the song, Nas stated: "I'm a huge fan of Phil Collins and I just wanted to take the vibe from 'In the Air Tonight'.

"[2] Steve Juon of RapReviews wrote that the song features a production technique previously implemented by such hip hop artists as Outkast and the Roots, which he described as "a quiet groove that steadily increases in energy and intensity until an increasingly amped Nas lets his lyrical rage boil over like a Final Fantasy fighter smacked ONCE too often.

"[1] According to Nick Butler, the song's structure "slowly build[s] up from a simple 'In the Air Tonight' sample toward the full production ... like hearing two mini hip-hop versions of 'Stairway to Heaven', before Nas flips the script for the third verse and does the same thing in reverse.

[6][7] Keith Harris of City Pages described the lyrical structure of "One Mic" as "urban claustrophobia distilled and digitized, with Nas's reportorial eye zooming in on a detail, then pulling back to a panoramic overview.

"[8] Music critic Cynthia Fuchs described the song's lyrical scheme as "building slowly to a crescendo of declaration and rage, then coming back, to seek a way to make a difference, with that precious one mic.

[11] Womack wrote that "Nas's references ultimately humanized Jesus, with attempts to show direct parallels between our quest and that of the Wayshower.

[11] Marc L. Hill from PopMatters cited it as Stillmatic's "standout track", calling Nas "our magnificently human rap god.

"[19] In retrospect, IGN's Jon Robinson viewed "One Mic" as a comeback for Nas, writing that it "proved that he was still not only one of the dopest MCs in the world, but possibly the most gifted writer of the rap community.

The scene in the video of the riots was instead filmed in Los Angeles with participants from a local inner-city baseball team playing the rioters.

[24] The scene of the rock being thrown in the direction of the camera was taken over 10 times (the actor "had a bit of a curve on his throwing arm," according to Robinson) before post-production work managed to complete the desired effect.

[24] Robinson also told his director of photography to open and close the shutters of the camera in the apartment scene, creating an effect of blurred streaks of light.

[24] The video begins with a montage of scenes from inner-city areas of New York City, followed by a camera shot of an apartment window in which a light has just been turned on.

[25] Soon, the two sides clash on the dirt road, and Nas pauses to a steady iteration of "One Mic" while standing contrastedly in the middle of the ongoing violence, the scene ending with the silent scream (symbolized by a descending piano) of a little bystanding Soweto girl as the scene cuts back to Nas, in the apartment room, kicking the chair and launching headfirst into a full-blown litany.