"Ghetto" is a song by Senegalese-American singer-songwriter

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

from his debut studio album, ''

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

''. The single was released on December 21, 2004, exclusively in Latin America and certain countries of Europe. The single peaked at #92 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Akon describes the meaning of the song, reflected in the song's lyrics, as "a description of the

cycle of poverty In economics, a cycle of poverty, poverty trap or generational poverty is when poverty seems to be inherited, preventing subsequent generations from escaping it. It is caused by self-reinforcing mechanisms that cause poverty, once it exists, to ...

experienced by those living in poor,

inner-city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...

areas". Additionally, it describes the physical and psychological

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment of, or exercise of power over, a group of individuals, often in the form of governmental authority. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. No universally accepted model ...

with which these residents must deal on a regular basis.

Song information

Four official versions of the song exist. The main album version is sung entirely by Akon, and features on all versions of the album. The second version is entitled the "International Remix", which features Dutch artists

Ali B Ali Bouali, known professionally as Ali B (born 16 October 1981), is a Moroccan Dutch rapper and entertainer. He is one of the most prominent rappers in the Netherlands and has collaborated with musicians such as Akon and Marco Borsato. He is se ...

and

Yes-R Yesser Roshdy (, ; born 2 November 1986), better known by his stage name Yes-R, is a Dutch rapper, singer and television presenter. He was born in Amsterdam, to an Egyptian father, and a Moroccan mother. Before going solo, he was part of the Dut ...

, and is listed as the main version of the track on the most prominent single formats. The third version is entitled the "US Remix", and features additional vocals from the late rappers

Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

and

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

The "US Remix" version is only on the promotional version (US promo CD single). The fourth version is entitled the "

Reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

Remix", and features vocals from Tego Calderon. There is also a Spanish version of this song by MC Piri, called "Pueblo Libre". The song is not available on the

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 ...

version of the ''Trouble'' album.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the track was filmed in

Irvington, New Jersey Irvington is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 61,176, an increase of 7,250 (+13.4%) from the 2010 Uni ...

, trailer park in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation (), also known as Navajoland, is an Indian reservation of Navajo people in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah. The seat of government is located in ...

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. The video was directed by Canadian

Little X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres si ...

. Two videos for the International and Reggaeton remixes exist, and both appear on the main single format.

Track listing

; US promo CD single # "Ghetto" - 3:57 # "Ghetto" (Remix) - 4:27 ; US 12" vinyl # "Ghetto" - 3:57 # "Ghetto" (Reggaeton Remix) (Feat.

Tego Calderón Tegui Calderón Rosario (born February 1, 1972) is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He began his musical career in 1996 (as Tego Tec) and was supported by the famous Puerto Rican rapper Eddie Dee, who invited him on his second studio a ...

, Ali B & Yes R) - 5:40 # "Ghetto" (International Remix) (Feat.

& Yes R) - 4:17 # "Ghetto" (Instrumental) - 3:57 ; Dutch 3CD single set * CD1 # "Ghetto" (International Remix) (Feat. Ali B & Yes R) - 4:17 # "Ghetto" (Live On The Box, Amsterdam) - 3:46 # "Ghetto" (International Remix) (Feat. Ali B & Yes R) (Video) - 4:23 * CD2 # "Ghetto" (International Remix) (Feat. Ali B & Yes R) - 4:17 # "Lonely" (Live On The Box, Amsterdam) - 3:41 # "Locked Up" (Live On The Box, Amsterdam) - 2:58 * CD3 # "Ghetto" (International Remix) (Feat. Ali B & Yes R) - 4:17 # "Ghetto" (Reggaeton Remix) (Feat. Tego Calderon, Ali B & Yes R) - 5:40 # "Ghetto" (Reggaeton Remix) (Feat. Tego Calderon, Ali B & Yes R) (Video) - 5:40

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghetto (Akon Song) Akon songs Tego Calderón songs 2004 singles 2004 songs Songs written by Akon Songs about poverty Universal Music Group singles Hip-hop soul songs