White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)

"White Lines (Don't Do It)" is a song by Melle Mel and Grandmaster Flash, released as a 12" in 1983 on Sugar Hill Records. The song, which warns against the dangers of cocaine, addiction, and drug smuggling, is one of Melle Mel's signature tracks. The instantly recognizable bassline is sampled from a performance of the Sugar Hill house band playing Liquid Liquid's "Cavern".

"White Lines" peaked at #47 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart in 1983. The song fared better in the United Kingdom, reaching number 7 on the UK Singles Chart in July of 1984 (and number 13 in the UK's top 50 songs of the year).

The video was directed by Spike Lee and starred Laurence Fishburne.

Samples, covers, and tributes
Duran Duran released an electronica/alternative rock/rap version on their 1995 album Thank You. They were backed by the original musicians on the track, and as of 2006, the band is continuing to perform the song as a regular part of their live set.

The bassline and/or the refrain "something of a phenomenon" has been sampled or covered by:
 * Big Audio Dynamite for the 1985 song "The Bottom Line"
 * Mobb Deep for the 1999 song "Quiet Storm"
 * 112 for the 2001 song "It's Over Now"
 * Limp Bizkit for the 2003 song "Phenomenon"
 * Mighty Casey for the 2003 song "White Girls" (also known as "Whities")
 * LL Cool J for the song "Phenomenon"
 * De La Soul for the song "Ego Trippin' (Part Two)"
 * Yeah Yeah Yeahs for the "Phenomena"
 * ReTouch also covered the song "White Lines" in the summer of 2006.
 * Barefoot released a jazz version in 2006

Trivia

 * The song was played as a joke on Everybody Hates Chris when Rochelle is cut off from her chocolate turtles and is desperately searching for any sugar.
 * The song is used in the film Shaun of the Dead when the characters Shaun and Ed, drunk, stumble out of their pub singing.
 * In Episode 5 of Season 1 of The Shield, as the Strike Team prepares to steal cocaine from the Armenians, Shane Vendrell remarks that the streets haven't seen cocaine that strong since Grandmaster Flash, referring to the song.
 * The Chicago based WCIU utilizes a sound alike version of the famous bass line in advertisements for various shows.