Artist: Fkenal

Song: “The Penumbra” (from the EP In-Media Res)

Heard By: Earl Paus, Chula Vista

It was just instrumental. It was pretty steady…I liked it. It was something I can dance to. I guess I would have liked it better if it had some lyrics because it kind of seemed to repeat itself. I don’t really listen to that type of music mainly, but I would say [it sounds like] bands like Emery and Acceptance. It’s kind of indie, kind of chill…maybe a little progressive rock, too. The bass was the one [instrument] dominating most of the sound, and then I heard a lot of drums and a little bit of guitar. It was a steady bassline, but it was really precise throughout the whole song. I really liked the bass. I would say that they’d do fairly well because it wasn’t something typical or predictable.

Artist: Comfortable Creeps

Song: “Stolen Destruction” (from the CD Paycheck to Paycheck)

Heard By: Travis Johnson, University Heights

I thought the music was really good. The messages in it were really good — they had one about how assault and battery against women is wrong. Some of the lyrics were kind of immature — they rhymed with [words] like “land” and “band.” They’ll use the same rhyme on three different lines, and I just thought it was basic but they had some good parts, too.… I think they’re a little confused on whether they want to be gangsta rap or they want to be political. They were just jumping around from subject to subject, and I didn’t know what they were talking about half the time. Maybe if they had a vocal hook it would have a lot more commercial potential.

Artist: Young Mass w/ Digital Underground & Kenya Gruv

Song: “Blue Skyy (Remix)” (from his self-titled CD)

Heard By: William Morris, Paradise Hills

If I had to rate it, I’d give it a six out of ten. It’s kind of similar to Will Smith [music]; you know, not angry music to get “pumped up,” but nice and mellow. It’s not vulgar; the kids can listen to it. He was talking about having fun on a nice day. A little get-together. I heard “blue sky” a lot. It was a nice beat, but I’ve heard better. I’m not a real critic of hip-hop; I don’t sit there and try to listen too close. I think it will do all right, and Digital Underground will catch some people’s attention. [On] that song, I didn’t hear too much of a lyricist, but the instrumentals were decent. I’m more of a Jay-Z kind of guy. I could see myself listening to it [while] driving a little ways, like to L.A.