The Heart of Rock and Soul by Dave Marsh

77 WHITE LINES (DON'T DON'T DO IT), Grandmaster and Produced by , Melle Mel, and Joey Robinson Jr.; written by Sylvia Robinson and Melvin Glover [Melle Mel] Sugar Hill 465 1983 Billboard: #101

"White Lines" is a pure product of the recording studio, a piece of music that couldn't conceivably have been created live because it relics on a series of electronic effects that aren't available onstage. It could also be described as a hip-hop novelty disc, because it's suffused with aural and lyrical puns. and the Furious 5 made the first really great rap record, "The Message," but "White Lines" beats it. Rather than the bare-bones musical approach of their earlier records, Grandmastcr and Melle Mel build the sound back up around a jittery, obsessive bass drum pattern. When the bass hits its stride, heralded by the cry "Free base!" the effect is a little like having a supersonic jet pass over your house. Windows rattle, floors shake, children and small animals wail and head for cover. The topic is cocaine. "White Lines" is wholly immersed in drug culture, its lyric steeped in an awareness of the similarities between dope slang and music jargon. ("Free base" is the best example.) The record covers the entire spectrum of cocaine culture, from its economics and aesthetics to its pharmacological and sexual implications. Divining the message is hopeless, however, because even though the verses condemn the drug world (including trenchant lines about the disparity in the court system's treatment of street kid users and businessman dealers), in the end the singer admits that he gets high himself and that what really bothers him is that the shit's so damn expensive. So, the double negative in the subtitle says it straight. However dubious its admonitory value, though, "White Lines" illuminates its subject. The jagged, nervous beat and the chopped up vocals are symptomatic, as are the musical devices. At high volume. which is the way this music makes best sense, the tangible power residing here becomes almost as oppressive, certainly as unavoidable, as the drug plague itself. When you're lost in the swirl of its sound, eager to go back for more, it's easier to understand the appeal of substances more perniciously narcotic.

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