Even if you’re not a fan of the brothers Lindsey, it’s difficult not to respect them. Rather than damage inboxes with the umpteenth “freestyle” over “D.O.A..” they’ve laid low since dropping Remind Me in Three Days last year, opting to eschew the blog hustle for the tangible grind, building a fan base the old-fashioned way: relentless touring and an undeniable live show. They don’t do mixtapes, don’t collaborate with whoever’s hot this hour, and though they’re signed to Interscope, they’ve received a tepid corporate push in contrast to the careful calculations of the Asher Roth’s of the world. And while naysayers derided their skinny jeans and sartorial flair when they first came out 18 months ago, their style seems trend-setting after the the deluge of boa constrictor-tight jeaned rappers.
Which leaves only the music–the idea of creating value in the valueless Internet integers game. “Fuck You,” the first leak leading up to their sophomore album, is as great as the two other iconic rap songs whose title it shares. Not only does it further refine their garage-hop aesthetic, but expands its boundaries. New Orleans-raised Rah Al Milio and Krispy seem forever obsessed with finding the ideal synthesis of the Wu-Tang and Juvenile fandom of their adolescence, with the Strokes and Beatles worship of their adulthood.
Accordingly, their latest banger embodies that culture clash–with raw as fuck drums, mangled keyboards, and a warped tape loop that sounds inspired by “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Lyrically, Rah Al Milio and Krispy balance their West Coast endless summer raps with a hustler’s cynicism. The former puts it best when he declares “fuckin’ these hipster ho’s in fake paper, don’t make up for the makeup and design of the maker.” Al’s also started a Tumblr blog under his new alias, Joey Lestrat, but that’s tangential to the point. If their still-untitled second jaunt has stuff as good as this, prepare to hear a lot more about it this fall. And if you don’t agree, the Knux have two words for you…
Download:
MP3: The Knux-“Fuck You”
