Originally formed by SDSU students, afterschoolspecial is essentially a rock band whose singer tends to rap, ala Rage Against the Machine or the Beastie Boys. “The band puts their sweat and tears into every show that we do,” according to Emcee Dan Matthews. “I’ve hurt my back, kicked myself in the face, and bloodied a few knees; if the crowd’s loving it, then I’m loving it, too.”

The band has shared the stage with the Souls of Mischief, Pigeon John, LuckyiAm (the Living Legends), Supreme Soul (from MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew), the Blue Scholars, and others. Their debut EP Not One For Words was produced by Peter Rocks and engineered at 4th Street Studios in Santa Monica. They were nominated Best Hip-Hop at the 2009 San Diego Music Awards.