And we marvel at the state of Ottoman
Then turn around and treat Ghana like a garbage can

from Lupe Fiasco – Around My Way Lyrics on Rap Genius

The Ottoman Empire lasted 700 years and was one of the most influential empires in history. The Ottoman empire what is now Turkey, spreading westward near modern-day Austria, east to the Caspian Sea, and south throughout a strip of North Africa. Most people wonder how a once great empire can lead to countries full of violence and disorder. What they don’t realize is that it was Western meddling that broke up the Ottoman Empire, and led to the disorder of these countries today. CNN and the New York Times portray these areas as full of poverty and violence, without acknowledging we did that to them.

Lupe turns around and talks about Ghana a country in Western Africa. Just like the Ottomans they too had a great empire who were far ahead of their time. But like all great empires, they eventually come to an end. Now Ghana is also considered a poverty-stricken wasteland, not many people are aware of how powerful it used to be, and the ones that do won’t acknowledge it. So once again, the West screws over a former empire, leading to harsh conditions.

Ghana is also one of the world’s biggest dumping grounds. Mostly electronics from the United States. Agbogbloshie, Ghana has become one of the world’s digital dumping grounds, where hundreds of millions of tons of the West’s electronic waste pile up each year. So Ghana has gone from a powerful empire to a big trash can.

Also notice how the first line also sounds like, “And we marvel at the state of heart of man.” This would make sense because Lupe is saying that we pretend to care about others, but then we forget and treat people/countries (Ghana) like shit. The state of the heart is very poor.

He is satirizing how humans are ignorant and apathetic to each other, particularly people we don’t know or have relationships with. Especially, since there are so many religious followers (Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc) who are instructed to help out the needy and impoverished. Lupe is criticizing those who are hypocrites of their own self proclaimed faith.

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