You can count the so-called Dean of American Rock Critics, Robert Christgau, among Dessa's fans. The veteran scribe gave the Minneapolis hip-hop star high praise on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" yesterday. Click here to hear the clip or to read what Christgau had to say about her new Doomtree-issued album, "A Badly Broken Code." Among the highlights:

"She recalls an old-fashioned high-quality singer-songwriter like Joni Mitchell or Rosanne Cash — just one who's decided that hip-hop beats, tolerantly and inclusively conceived, are a modern lyricist's most effective delivery system."

(Photo by Tom Wallace for Star Tribune)