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Banning Eyre reviews new albums by two African hip-hop groups, Daara J and X Plastaz. Eyre says their music embodies ways that Africans are debating their cultural identity through music.

Dr. John is more than just a legendary blues pianist. He's a genuine New Orleans character — a little swig of Bourbon Street — straight out of central casting. Dr. John, a.k.a. Mac Rebennack talks with Co-host Steve Inskeep about his new album Dis Dat or D'Udda.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews new collections of Bollywood film music: Bollywood for Beginners, The Best of Bollywood, 15 Classic Hits from the Indian Cinema, and The Very Best of Bollywood Songs II.

Since Anita O'Day made her solo debut in the 1940s, she has been charming listeners with her dynamic incorporation of bop modernism into vocals. Her raspy voice, which inspired a string of followers, is showcased on 1957's Pick Yourself Up with Anita O'Day.

In 1963, Gerry Mulligan brought an outstanding sextet to the Nola Studios in New York City to create an album that paid homage to the bossa nova and samba craze. The result of their piano-less collaboration was Night Lights, summed up by jazz critic Murray Horwitz as an album in which "Poland meets Brazil."

Bessie Smith became known as "the empress of the blues" in the 1920s, when most vocalists called themselves blues singers. On The Essential Bessie Smith, she shows how her famous voice could captivate a room without the aid of a microphone.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new albums: a punk-rock-opera by the group Green Day, American Idiot, and Rubber Factory by the group Black Keys.

Bud Powell was one of the great jazz innovators. He transferred many of Charlie Parker's pieces to the piano by playing speedy single-note lines with his right hand. Powell's innovative technique is displayed on these albums, which feature Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, and Fats Navarro.

Swedish-American Cal Tjader is ironically one of the icons of Afro-Cuban jazz. The versatile vibraphonist successfully navigated the worlds of both Latin jazz and mainstream bop, influencing Carlos Santana and other artists. This album was recorded at the 1959 Monterey Jazz Festival.

NPR's Michele Norris talks with John McCrea, lead singer and songwriter of the band CAKE, whose newest album is Pressure Chief. Mr. McCrea explains that his songwriting is often inspired by the frustrations and sadness of romances gone wrong; fortunately, these stories are vivid and occasionally humorous.