Friday, March 29, 2024

Exclusive: Author of Major New Kanye Sample More Right Wing Than Yeezy, Wrote a Song Against Proposed ‘Ground Zero Mosque’

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Well, here I was so excited about a guy named Trade Martin. He wrote the main sample in Kanye West’s new album on the track “Ghost Town.” Most of “Ghost Town” comes from a song called “Take Me for a Little While” which was a hit for Vanilla Fudge in the 60s and Dave Edmunds in the 80s.

Martin is kind of a lesser known local New York pop writer and singer from the 60s. He sounds like Johnny Rivers (who if you don’t know, you should).

Anyway, I thought: this is great, Trade Martin will be discovered as an unsung hero.

Well, guess what Trade Martin’s been doing recently? Here’s his big song from the last 20 years “We’ve Got to Stop the Mosque at Ground Zero.” You know, for a few years there was a plan to build Muslim Cultural Center near the old World Trade Center. The alt right and Republicans went crazy. They tried to shut down the project. Eventually, the plan fell apart anyway. But the hatred toward Muslims on this project was palpable and visceral. And Kanye’s songwriter felt he had to do something about it.

What a shame. I’m taking “Ghost Town” off my play list. For once, I hope the sample didn’t get a big fee.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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