The Old School Comes of Age

Today, a look at the re-emergence of rappers from the hip-hop heyday of the late '80s and early '90s. Did the industry leave them behind? Or have they been shaking up the underground all these years? Joining us is the rapper C.L. Smooth, whose new album "American Me" arrives in September, and Mark Anthony Neal, author and Associate Professor of Black Popular Culture at Duke University. Also on the show: jazz bassist Charlie Haden. He is currently playing a week at the Blue Note with his hard-swinging Quartet West. He joins us to talk about the group's first 20 years together. And finally, Ratatat, an electronic duo from Brooklyn who make clever, synth-driven post rock, joins us to share cuts from their second album, "Classics."