Ghetto Records started as [Joe Bataan’s] dream, a way to get over on The Man and out of the ’hood, a bold move by the "ordinary guy" looking for independence and creative control in an industry that exploited his talents but treated him like property. History is woven with stories like these. Like many dreams and schemes born of the street, this one was audacious, perhaps reckless to a fault, born out of desperation and full of hope and chutzpah, only to be dashed and come crashing down a short while later as larger forces, machinations far beyond the dreamer’s control, caused a premature end that would serve as a wakeup call, a teaching moment that would sow the seeds of the dreamer’s next venture and profoundly affect the future of the very music industry it was fighting against.