West released his third studio album Graduation two months later, which features a guest appearance from Lil Wayne on "Barry Bonds"; this marked the first collaboration between the two.

[1] The former released his sixth studio album Tha Carter III the following month, and West contributed production to its tracks "Comfortable" and "Let the Beat Build".

initially rejected the decision due to their differing personalities, but later started to communicate with Kanye West more after persuasion from Malik Yusef.

[6] Reflecting on the album for its 10th anniversary in 2018, recording engineer Anthony Kilhoffer recalled the heavy amount of effort that was put into the song's production.

Adam Conner-Simons from musicOMH stated that "See You in My Nightmares" demonstrates where the album "crystallises a distinct musical moment", giving the song the title of a "mesmering" duet between West and the rapper.

[8] Conner-Simons further commented that due to "two of the rap game's most respected MCs dropping the macho facade", utilizing Auto-Tune and putting out "a passionate club-banger about relationship troubles", West "is effectively ushering in a bizarre new emo-rap subgenre".

[8] Writing for PopMatters, Dave Heaton remarked that West's choice to guest Lil Wayne on the song was smart, appreciating his "tough" voice as a perfect fit for "the milieu".

[22] In his Consumer Guide MSN Music column, Robert Christgau observed that even though the quality of the songs deters in the second half of 808s & Heartbreak, "they come rushing back with the Lil Wayne ditty".

[25] Expressing a divided opinion of "See You in My Nightmares" in No Ripcord, Cara Nash analyzed that while the song "may prove more commercially viable" with Lil Wayne's appearance, his "thug like vocals" are disruptive of the album's "introspective flow".

[26] Brandon Perkins from Urb admitted that despite the addition of Lil Wayne's "supersized ego", the song turns out to be "surprisingly flat and forgettable", believing certain lyrics from the rapper stick out for their "cringe-worthy absurdity".

[27] In a negative review for Spin, Charles Aaron characterized the song as a "disjointed oddity" that Lil Wayne raps foolish lyrics on in his typical Auto-Tuned style.

[13] Aaron continued, affirming that the combination of his rapping and "chintzy synth-strings sweep[ing] by" makes it "time to scan for an exit" from the album.

[28] Offering a similar viewpoint, Slant Magazine's Wilson McBee said the rapper's feature is representative of "the worst of his recent Auto-Tuned, soft-rock indulgences".

[38] West delivered a performance of the former for his headlining set at the 2009 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London, during which he rocked his customary aviator shades and black suit jacket.

[42][43] West was backed by a small band and a medium-sized orchestra, while the lights were off and the stage was covered in a bright blood red color.

[21] Landay continued, clarifying that the film was shot for fun and is "not necessarily [a video for 'Nightmares'], but the song is featured in it", while revealing that editing was ongoing at the time.

[48] During a scene of the film that features a remix of "See You in My Nightmares" playing in the background through the speakers in a club,[49][50] West portrays a drunken version of his public persona as he stumbles around.

[53] On December 14, 2015, Vida Sophia of Danish dream pop project Bye Barat posted her cover version of the song to SoundCloud.

The cover's production has psychedelic elements and heavily features reverberation, while Vida Sophia sings in a soft, calm voice.