the light is coming (feat. Nicki Minaj)

"The Light Is Coming" kicks off with a sample taken from a confrontation between former Senator Arlen Specter and a member of the public during a 2009 Pennsylvania town hall meeting. A man erupted in anger over the issue of private insurance under the Democratic healthcare proposal and shouted, "I called your office and I was told I could have the mic […] because I came prepared to speak. He then cried: and, instead, you wouldn't let anybody speak The sample is repeated a number of times throughout the song. Pharrell Williams' skitter production takes inspiration from his own N.E.R.D song "Lemon." That track borrows from the same Pennsylvania public meeting, but in that instance its Arlen Specter, shouting "wait a minute."

Ariana Grande's lyrics utilize a metaphor of light overcoming darkness in order to describe a relationship that originally had its doubters, before true love eventually wins through. I've been into you, s--t that you've been through They are so confused, who cares about the rational? If it ain't your view That's the bottom line Know-it-all Pharrell Williams' sample from the Pennsylvania public meeting adds a second political meaning to Ariana's lyrics about true love overcoming the haters.

Nicki Minaj raps the first verse in which she plays along with the concept of Ariana's album Sweetener as well as dropping a reference to her "Chun-Li" single. Now I'm the bad guy, call me Chun-Li (ooh) 'Cause you was slippin', yep, you clumsy And everything I peep, can't just unsee Sips tea, and it's unsweet Grande told The Fader, that she auditioned eight rappers for "The Light Is Coming" before turning to Minaj: "That's what Nicki Minaj does, she elevates a record," she said. "If you're going to have a rapper on a song, they need to really really really be there for a reason, and she does that every single time."