Kintrell “Krispy Kream” and Alvin “Rah Almillo” Lindsey aren’t rappers. They aren’t hipsters either. They’re just, well, The Knux. And their debut CD, Remind Me In 3 Days, is equally hard to define. The brothers call it “abstract-progressive,” others call it “genre-bending,” I call it fucking sick.
The Lindsey brothers, born and bred in New Orleans, both got their musical start in the high school marching band. They soon moved into other musical genres, penning their own rhymes, learning to play new instruments and producing their own beats. By the time Hurricane Katrina hit their hometown, Krispy and Almillo had sent a demo tape westward to Los Angeles. They refused to leave their city for the worst of the hurricane — even living in their car together at a point — and wound up relocating to Houston. The boys were wholly uninspired by the city and knew they needed to get out. The Knux soon got signed to Interscope Records, moved to L.A. and got to work on Remind Me In 3 Days. Songs from their demo made the rounds on the Internet, and The Knux soon became a blog sensation. “Cappuccino,” a track replete with all the swagger and bounce of a classic Jay-Z beat, was featured in an episode of the HBO hit Entourage. The boys then opened for Common on his “Finding Forever” tour in the summer of 2007. After years of working and waiting, the brothers Knux have finally released their debut album. And the music world should rejoice.
As soon as you hear the haunting bass riff and energetic drums of “The List,” the CD’s opening track, you know you’re in for something out of the ordinary. Not one song on the CD can be pigeonholed into a single genre, which is refreshing and almost startling with its ingenuity. Krispy and Almillo combine the drums of The Roots, the guitar riffs of Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes (yes, really), the catchy hooks of OutKast and the verses of Wyclef Jean, Common and Busta Rhymes at their best. In short, The Knux is what N.E.R.D. wants to be when it grows up.
The Lindseys have the ability to be narrative and deep but also to cater to the “money, cash, hoes” set with ease. In their first single, “Bang! Bang!” they manage to deliver a positive message while lauding their own importance in typical contemporary rap fashion. Regardless, it’s ridiculously catchy and has the potential to be a “Paper Planes”-like sing-a-long phenomenon. The same goes for “Lights Camera Action,” which sounds like the love child of Van Halen and Timbaland. The CD’s only flaw is a skit entitled “Pea Knuckle,” which is a waste of the listener’s time, as most skits are.
Actually, in truth, the album has two flaws: that damn skit and the fact that it ends. Though 16 tracks makes for a totally formidable debut album, you’re going to be wishing for more once you make your way through the ridiculousness that is The Knux.
