Think hip-hop.

You're probably picturing a lone rapper, perhaps with a crew to back her up. You might even see a DJ in the background, one hand holding oversized headphones, the other intensely scratching out beats. You're not thinking Heiruspecs.

Heiruspecs is an up-and-coming live hip-hop band from St. Paul, Minn. The band will be playing two shows this weekend in the State College area: Saturday at 10 p.m. in the HUB-Robeson Center's Heritage Hall and Monday at 10 p.m. at Zeno's, 100 W. College Ave.

The difference between Heiruspecs and other hip-hop acts is that the members of Heiruspecs actually play instruments.

No DJ is providing them with rhythms to rhyme to. The five members of Heiruspecs (including two rappers) love to play, and they wanted to carry that over to the hip-hop scene. Their musical backgrounds, ranging from rock to gospel to jazz, create an incredibly unique sound.

"We started out kind of jamming that way ... at St. Paul's Central High School," said Felix, one of the rappers of Heiruspecs. "The bass player and I were in a recording class, and we would just jam like that every day."

Heiruspecs is beginning to establish a broad fan base. The group has already toured with a wide variety of musicians, including Busta Rhymes, Jurassic 5 and the White Stripes.

"The response has been awesome," Heiruspecs manager Myles Kennedy said. "They've played all over the U.S., 250 to 300 shows per year."

Felix also hopes the band will soon reach the mainstream.

"We hope to push it further and further," he said. "I think we represent a fairly small part of hip-hop, and I'm hoping we can push it more into the focus of everyone else."

The band expects to see a wide variety of people at their shows.

"Hopefully, it'll be a mishmash of everyone," said dVRG, Heiruspecs' keyboardist. "We often expect to see the party boys, the frat boys with a beer in one hand screaming and yelling. We love those dudes."

The band's manager believes Heiruspecs will appeal to everyone. He described the type of person who would enjoy the band.

"Anybody that's a fan of any style of music," he said. "They are musicians."

Kennedy also explained why the band is beginning to become so popular.

"They're the melting pot of everyone," he said. "Everyone should have something in common with them."

Concert-goers can expect some freestyling.

"We pretty much always have a freestyle after the show," Felix said. "If we're working with other rappers, we try to invite them up."

Saturday's show is free to Penn State students. Cover to Monday's 21-and-over show at Zeno's is $3.