The Knux are an American

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

duo, formed in 2003, composed of

brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

Kentrell "Krispy" Lindsey (formerly known as Krispy Kream) and Alvin "Joey" Lindsey (formerly known as Rah Al Millio). Both brothers are multi-instrumentalists, who sing and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, as well as produce the bulk of their own music. Their music contains elements of rock,

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and pop music. The Knux are well known for their intense live shows; in 2009, they were invited to perform at almost every major music festival in North America. They have also toured with a slew of diverse artists spanning various genres, such as

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

, Q-Tip,

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

Shwayze Aaron Smith, better known as Shwayze (born May 29, 1985), is an American rapper. His first single " Buzzin'" peaked at No. 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His second single "Corona and Lime," reached No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in th ...

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...

DJ AM Adam Michael Goldstein (March 30, 1973 – August 28, 2009), known professionally as DJ AM, was an American disc jockey (DJ). Born in Philadelphia, Goldstein became interested in deejaying as a child after watching Herbie Hancock perform his 1 ...

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...

and

DJ Cobra Andrew Bagg (born June 8, 1981), better known by his stage name DJ Cobra, is an open format deejay. Early life and career DJ Cobra's career was launched while attending the University of Arizona. DJ Cobra started cold-calling Record Labels an ...

, among other prominent artists. They released their debut album '' Remind Me in 3 Days...'', on October 28, 2008. They released their follow-up, ''

Eraser An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from the material first used) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellum). Erasers have a ...

'', on September 27, 2011.

History

Early life and career beginnings

The Lindsey brothers were born and raised in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Louisiana, by their single mother. The two brothers were initially not very close. Joey likes to describe their childhood as him being a

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...

: "I was like the nerd, into

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

and stuff like that, and Krispy was more like, popular and into hanging out and girls." True to their often cantankerous relationship, Krispy begs to differ: "Ah man, that's just how Joey likes to say it, but that ain't how it was. Joey was always a cool mu'fucka, it's just that we didn't fuck with each other like that." Although they shared the same roof, and the same interest in

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

, where they honed their playing prowess, the two ran in different

circles A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

in high school. Joey cites

' second album ''

It Was Written ''It Was Written'' is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. After the modest commercial success of his debut album ''Illmatic'' (1994), Nas pursued a more polished, mainstream sound for '' ...

'' (1996) as the first rap album that he really listened to. Joey has credited the

Gravediggaz Gravediggaz was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from New York, known for its Black comedy, dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. Gravediggaz blended hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap and Heavy metal music, heavy metal with ...

second album ''

The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel ''The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel'' is the second studio album by hip hop supergroup Gravediggaz. Released on September 16, 1997 via Gee Street, V2 and BMG Records, the album has a more socially conscious sound and is considerably calmer t ...

'' (1997) as the album that brought them together: "I bought that tape and we'd just sit around after school listening to it all afternoon." Within a year of the two hanging out and writing rhymes, they hooked up with an uncle who was a local producer and started to create songs together. Krispy has said: "We started off calling ourselves The Knuckle Heads and we'd go over to his studio to make beats and songs." The brothers were displaced after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

hit their hometown, after which the brothers relocated to Los Angeles, California.

''Remind Me in 3 Days...'' (2006–2008)

The Knux began to gain recognition in 2007, when they were the

opening act A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...

for Chicago-bred rapper

's Finding Forever Tour. On February 19, 2008, the song "Cappuccino", was the first single by The Knux, officially released by Interscope. The song was later featured in an episode of the fourth season of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

original series, ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

''. The song was later featured in the

stoner film Stoner film is a subgenre of comedy film that revolves around the Recreational drug use, recreational use of Cannabis (drug), cannabis. Generally, cannabis use is one of the main themes and inspires much of the plot. They are often representative ...

, ''

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay ''Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'' is a 2008 American buddy stoner comedy film written and directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. The sequel to ''Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle'' (2004), it is the second installment in the ...

''. A music video for the "Cappuccino", was subsequently filmed. With the singles "Bang, Bang" and "Cappuccino" garnering attention, their debut album '' Remind Me in 3 Days...'', was released in 2008. The album charted at number 23 on the U.S.

Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

''Eraser'' (2009–2011)

After spending most of 2009 touring to promote their debut album, 2010 had The Knux back in the studio working on their second release. On January 2, 2010, The Knux released their debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP), titled ''Fuck You''. They later announced the title of their second album to be ''

'', due to them wanting to reshape their image: "With this album, we want to take those preconceived notions and shatter and erase them" said eldest brother Krispy. The album was initially to be released on June 21, 2011, but was pushed back to September. They recorded the album with Robert Orton who has handled production duties on

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

albums. On February 9, 2011, ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

'' posted the song "She's So Up", which was later officially released on March 1 and serves as the album's first single. On July 12, 2011, The Knux released their second single, titled "Run", which features American recording artist

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Yo ...

. Unlike their previous effort, ''Eraser'' included guest appearances from artists such as

Natalia Kills Natalia Noemi "Teddy" Sinclair (née Cappuccini; born 15 August 1986), is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She has recorded music under various aliases, most famously as Natalia Kills and Verbalicious. She is currently the lead vocali ...

, Jack Davey, Blake Miller and

. The album was released on September 27, 2011.

''KTWN'' and ''Eleven'' (2012–present)

On July 27, 2012, The Knux released the first offering from their new project ''KTWN'', a song titled "Animal". The project, ''KTWN'', stands for the place The Knux now call home: Koreatown in downtown Los Angeles. "Animal" is the first single from ''KTWN'' with a combination of high energy rapping, singing, and guitar work. Throughout August and September the duo toured in the U.S., and revealed plans to bring the electric live show to Japan, the U.K., and Paris. On November 7, 2012 "Toke Up", the second offering from ''KTWN'', was released. Their second EP, ''KTWN'', was released on November 26, 2012. On April 28, 2015, The Knux released ''Eleven'', their third studio album.

Personal life

The duo currently reside in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

;As lead artist

Production discography

B.o.B – ''B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray'' (2010)

*09. "Fame"

STS – ''The Illustrious'' (2011)

*06. "Cliché"

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knux, The African-American musical groups African-American record producers African-American male singer-songwriters American hip hop record producers American multi-instrumentalists American musical duos Family musical groups Hip hop duos Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups from New Orleans Record production duos Sibling musical duos Southern hip hop groups Singer-songwriters from Louisiana