Rap's Rebels

Landing a publishing deal with Atlantic Records to ghostwrite songs for major artists they decline to identify, the Knuckleheads, as the duo then called themselves, traveled around the Big Easy, Houston, New York and Los Angeles, networking with record label bigwigs and soaking up musical influences as diverse as Emocore innovators. At the Drive-In, Brooklyn indie rock icons the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the horror punk band the Misfits.

Then in 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall and, as the creation myth goes, the Knuckleheads transformed into the Knux.

Katrina effect

The brothers were returning from Dallas, where the extended Lindsey family had ridden out the storm, and reached New Orleans just as the city was being evacuated. "On the news, they showed Katrina had passed. An hour later, you heard the levees are breached," recalled Al. "You're on the road, not hearing that [stuff]. You see a long line of cars like in 'Independence Day.' People are on the side of the road, crying."

The Lindseys spent a week sleeping in their 2001 Saturn Ion before deciding to move to Houston. There, word of their talent for writing hook-laden, head-nodding songs began to spread, capturing the attention of powerhouse manager Mathew Knowles (Beyonce's father) who signed the brothers to a distribution deal with Sanctuary Records that later fell through.

By that point, with their familiarity with the Machiavellian inner workings of the music biz, the group -- now rechristened the Knux -- was driving a hard bargain, entertaining offers from four labels. Enter Paul Rosenberg, Eminem's manager and chief executive of the rap superstar's Interscope-distributed Shady Records. "We were getting calls from other managers. But dude kept calling after everyone else stopped," Krispy said. "He helped us get the deal we wanted with Interscope: one with complete creative control."

Since moving to Los Angeles in 2006 and then recording "Remind Me in 3 Days . . ." at a debauched party house in the Hollywood Hills, the Knux has become the most forward face of a hip-hop sub-genre that the duo abhors: hipster rap. The hedonistic scene has congealed around local performers including U-N-I and Shwayze -- artists who have either recorded or toured with the Knux. "I'm not going to take anything away from them because I like them," said Krispy. "But a lot of people who opened up for us, they'd see us do our thing and be like, 'I'm gonna do it!' "