Let's rock and ... rap?

Sitting in the dimly lit Connolly Station in Malverne on a Saturday afternoon, four of the five members of West Hempstead-based band Dussel Has Friends spent some 90 minutes trying to describe their music, their purpose and their image.

But there was no need for such description: the group’s sound, lyrics and personalities speak for themselves. Distinctly.

They are a hip-hop-meets-alternative band. Lead singer (rapper, really) James Donald is equipped with a lyrical tenacity that compels listeners to listen closely, and the beat to which he raps seizes them. Donald chalks up the appeal to collaboration: “The track tells me what to write about,” he said.

The lyrics, like the instrumentals, are relatable — familiar. Although unique to its creators, the music of Dussel Has Friends is reminiscent of that of Gym Class Heroes and artist B.o.B. That trendy sound, in part, is why the band is rapidly gaining recognition.

“I think all of our songs are single-worthy,” Donald said.

It figures he would think that: Donald is the cocky one of the bunch. The 30-year-old Queens native, father of a 1-year-old boy, said he is proud to have been a part of the band’s upcoming album. “It’s a balance of commercial with organic,” Donald said. “It’s very hard to capture, but we have it dead on.”

And it is a balance the band seems to have captured naturally. “We don’t try hard,” Donald said.

“We just want to be us,” added bassist and self-described goofball Ricky Cody. “A lot of people push themselves and get frustrated. … We don’t have to get it done — we want to get it done.”

The band members employ a similar ideology when it comes to publicizing their work. According to lead guitarist Rich Nardo, the band is concentrating on making itself known in specific markets instead of just throwing its music out there. But it is not seeking any particular gigs or chasing after invitations. “We’re being asked to go places,” Nardo said.