After releasing his critically-acclaimed good kid m.A.A.d. city and To Pimp a Butterfly, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar has solidified his position as a top contender in the rap game.

The stage was set. Guests piled into the dimly lit ballroom at the Delhi Community Center in Santa Ana on April 1, facing the modest stage that had been erected for a free arts and music event.

Santa Ana College will be hosting its fifth annual Sustain- A-Palooza event, April 19 in R-128.

The event, which returns for a second year at the Shrine Expo Hall, features bilingual ska bands from Latin America, Japan and the United States.

Venues all across downtown Santa Ana will host free sessions of spoken word, improvisation, read-alouds and more for its first Boca de Oro Art & Lit Fringe Festival in downtown Santa Ana this Saturday.

First, there is silence. Then, a syrupy wave of synthesizer keys and jangling beats bounces in. It begins slowly before