"See Me Now" is a song by American rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

featuring R&B singers

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

and Charlie Wilson. The album version includes a verse by

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

and is included on West's fifth studio album ''

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of ...

'' (2010) as an iTunes Store bonus track. It was written by West, Knowles, Wilson and Sean, while production was handled by West,

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and gridiron football player. He is best known for his work with Jim Crocke ...

and No I.D. "See Me Now" received generally positive reviews from music critics. The song peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart in 2010 and appeared at number 160 on the 2011 year-end South Korean Gaon Chart.

Background and composition

"See Me Now" was produced by West,

and No I.D. Southside was in the studio during Luger's production work on the song, which led to him being involved with West's 2011

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

collaboration "Illest Motherfucker Alive". It premiered on August 11, 2010. The song was also available on West's website, also on the same day, for a free digital download. The album version has an additional verse by

and is included on ''

'' as an

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

bonus track. Knowles recorded her vocals for the song at 5am. During the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

of the song, Knowles sings the lines, "I know one thing, my momma would be proud/And you see me looking up cause I know she's looking down right now". During the

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

Wilson sings the lines "I know you see me now right now, I know you see me now right now" with a "deep"

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

. In October 2010 "Never See Me Again", a different song with a similar title, leaked. Described as a "a nine-minute melancholy demo song", it was supposedly recorded while West was in a self-imposed exile to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

due to the backlash he received after interrupting Taylor Swift at the

2009 MTV Video Music Awards The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2008 to June 2009, were presented on September 13, 2009, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and televised by MTV. The ceremony was ...

. Online speculation later formed the theory "Never See Me Again" was to be West's final song before retiring or committing

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

; West went public with

suicidal ideation Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, is the thought process of having ideas or ruminations about the possibility of dying by suicide.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal i ...

during this time. The song interpolates "I Never Want to See You Again" by Quasi. "See Me Now" has been viewed as the triumphant, louder spiritual successor to "Never See Me Again".

Critical reception

Christian Hoard of the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' gave the song a rating of three and a half out of five stars, writing in his review of the song: "'I'm Socrates, but my skin more chocolaty,' shouts Kanye, who goes on to detail several feats of attention-whore behavior — cruising in Ferraris, rocking fur coats, walking into high-end restaurants with no shoes on. But the sound is remarkably warm, a gospel-style mix of heartfelt crooning (from Beyoncé and... Charlie Wilson) and plush accompaniment that's perfect for worshipping at the altar of Yeezy."

Chart performance

"See Me Now" debuted and peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart on August 28, 2010. It appeared at number 160 on the year-end South Korean Gaon Chart for 2011.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Kanye West' official websiteBeyoncé Knowles' official website
{{Big Sean singles 2010 songs Beyoncé songs Big Sean songs Charlie Wilson (singer) songs Kanye West songs Song recordings produced by Kanye West Song recordings produced by Lex Luger (musician) Songs written by Beyoncé Songs written by Big Sean Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by No I.D.