The corresponding 7" single contained a "Mixx-It" remix by San Francisco DJ and producer Cameron Paul; this was the radio version that gave the group its first mainstream hit.

Paul Oldfield from Melody Maker wrote, "'Push It' is an android electro pulse within earshot of Devo's pin-head synthesiser programmes, little pneumatic gasps and Mellotron drones like a motor in low-gear distress.

This involves carefully ripping off a strip of Devo's 'Whip It' anthem of yore and pasting it onto the side of a riff that veers near the music for a John Carpenter movie that never was...

"[7] Debbi Voller from Number One stated, "Bound to be a big hit in the present hip hop/house/rap mania climate, and why not?

"[2] Robin Smith from Record Mirror named it Single of the Week, writing, "Salt-n-Pepa produce enough energy to put life into a stuffed chimpanzee.

"[8] The accompanying music video for "Push It" features a concert performance of the song, along with DJ Spinderella and Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor on keyboards and backing vocals.

In 2006, the song is sung by a character named Samantha portrayed by actress Linda Cardellini in an infamous karaoke scene from the movie Grandma's Boy.

In 2011, the song was featured in a season 4 episode of Chuck called "Chuck Versus the Push Mix" in a scene where the characters Lester Patel and Jeffrey Barnes portrayed by Vik Sahay and Scott Krinsky play the song while Ellie Bartowski portrayed by Sarah Lancaster, the sister of the title character is seen giving birth to her first child named Clara Woodcomb.

In 2021, the song was briefly used in The Boss Baby: Family Business after Armstrong turns all adults in the holiday pageant into zombies.