When pop punk fans hear Jordan Pundik, a white man and lead singer of New Found Glory, singing the lyric, "Although I am black and proud/problems got me pessimistic," their previously conceived ideas about this genre may become a bit tweaked.

The same may prove true for rap aficionados when they hear the chorus of "Still Fly," originally sung by Big Tymers, being taken up an octave and featuring a hardcore electric guitar and drum track.

These examples of musical integration are the basis for the newest installment of the Punk Goes series on Fearless Records.

Released April 8, the album is suitably entitled Punk Goes Crunkand features 15 tracks in which pop punk bands show their innovative musical abilities by covering established rap songs with a caustic edge.

The first track on the new album is a rousing rendition of Lil John's "Put Yo Hood Up," covered by the band Set Your Goals.

Lead singer Matt Wilson said figuring out how band members could put their own spin on an unfamiliar song translated into the most fun the band had ever had while recording.

"We were like, 'We could make it a rock song, but we might as well just rap it,' " Wilson said.

Despite his band's involvement in the Punk Goes Crunk album, Wilson is still skeptical of mixing of punk and rap.

"It doesn't make sense musically, but it's just for fun," he said.

The theory that this album is "just for fun" may raise a question of credibility among punk listeners -- can these covers really be considered punk music?

"Taking a look at these bands, it is important if this cover is going to be remembered or if it's just filling space," said C. Michael Elavsky, a College of Communications professor at Penn State. "If they're out to stir things up, then that's punk. If they're out to sell records, I'd think otherwise."

Greg Gabbard, owner of City Lights Records, 316 E. College Ave., said the label applied to many of the bands in the Punk Goes series is a misnomer.

"I think that punk music only lasted about three years. Now there is a genre that should have a different name," Gabbard said. "All the 'punk' bands today sound the same to me. You can't say that about the Sex Pistols."

Elavsky said his conceptions about punk go back to the '70s, when punk was about being loud, fast and in your face and singing about untraditional things such as politics, class and culture.

He is still in support of new advances and the concept of mixing genres, but has apprehensions about this new album remain.

"More bands now have the opportunity to get out and push the boundaries, but they may compromise their vision," he said. "I'm all about breaking genres, but they should be doing this with their music, not a cover."

He said the mixing of crunk and punk can be good party music and will greatly appeal to someone who is interested in both genres.

Set Your Goals is also featured on another installment of the Punk Goes series, as are most of the bands on the Crunk album.

Set Your Goals was approached by Fearless Records to reproduce its single "Echoes" for the Punk Goes Acoustic 2 album, which came out last May.

The band got some practice converting to different genres while deciding how to keep its song's edge while playing it acoustically.

"We still wanted to have energy in the song, hence the drum track," Wilson said.

He acknowledges it was different working on the Punk Goes Crunk album because the band members had to cover a song by an artist of whom they aren't really fans.

"It's good for a party song, not a Set Your Goals song," he said. Nevertheless, Wilson said the Punk Goes series is a great way for people to be exposed to bands they wouldn't listen to otherwise.

This album, following the standards set by the rest of the series, has a potential for popularity, especially among listeners who dabble in both the punk and rap genres.

One such person is local State College musician Dan Johnstone, who is certainly no stranger to mixing genres in his work.

He broke into the punk scene with the band UTM, which played conventional punk-metal. When UTM disbanded in 2005, Johnstone claimed a new position as guitarist and vocalist for the band The Clover.

The original intention of The Clover, which mixes punk and traditional Irish music, was to play just on St. Patrick's day, but Johnstone said the band soon decided it was too much fun to only play once a year.

Now, Johnstone and a fellow Clover member also have a side project called the Midnight Love Ensemble, which transforms the guitarist and bassist into rappers.

Mixing the genres of rap and punk proved to be an easy task for the innovative ensemble.

"A lot of punk and rap are very alike with the same chord progressions and catchy melodies," Johnstone said.

Johnstone supports the work of the bands on the Punk Goes Crunk album because he said a narrow-minded approach would make either genre stale.

He said that, for him, all it comes down to is writing good songs.

"Punk music is about attitude, staying true to yourself, and doing your own thing. We take our punk/rap seriously; [the songs] talk about rap and sex, but they are still serious songs," he said.

Johnstone's opinion that the mixing of punk and rap should be considered serious doesn't quite mirror Gabbard's views on the subject. Gabbard said that an attempt to mix two genres together is automatically a gimmick, and gimmicks do not appeal to him.

Gabbard said the Punk Goes Crunk album lends even less credibility to the bands who participate because they are not even singing their own songs.

"Pride in your own work comes first. If you don't have that, then it's a joke," he said.

Johnstone, however, said that just having fun with music should not call into question any credibility.

"If you're not having fun," he said, "then you shouldn't be doing it."