Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto

Year Released: 1970
Genre: Soul / Funk / Jazz-Soul

Description:
Released in 1970 on Atco Records, “The Ghetto” is Donny Hathaway’s debut single and a landmark of socially conscious soul music. Co-written with Leroy Hutson, the track fuses extended jazz instrumentation, Afro-Latin percussion, and soulful improvisation — an early template for the sophisticated, message-driven sound Hathaway would pioneer.

Built on a hypnotic bass groove, call-and-response vocal ad-libs, and handclaps that evoke street life, the song paints an immersive portrait of African-American urban experience in the late 1960s. The instrumental interplay — featuring electric piano and percussive breakdowns — reflects Hathaway’s deep musicianship and gospel roots.

“The Ghetto” has been widely sampled in hip-hop and R&B, notably by Too Short (“The Ghetto”, 1990) and Common (“The People”, 2007), both of whom reimagined its social message for new generations. It remains one of soul’s most enduring and influential grooves.