If you listen to hip-hop, you’re listening to The Delfonics — a singing group from Philadelphia whose members are now in their 80s. When Lauryn Hill sings the hook in Nas’ “If I Ruled the World,” she’s lifting a couple lines from their 1972 song “Walk Right Up to the Sun.” Her group, The Fugees, reworked The Delfonics’ “Ready Or Not, Here I Come (Can’t Hide From Love)” on The Score. Ghostface asked The Delfonics’ William Hart to sing backup on his debut album, in “After the Smoke Is Clear,” and years later he rhymed over the entirety of “La La (Means I Love You)” in a song called “Holla.” Biggie, Missy Elliott, Gang Starr and Nicki Minaj have sampled the group’s songs.

Tapping the veins of The Delfonics’ emotive ballads has made for intensely dramatic tracks. Hart sings most often in the thin air of his upper register and, when his voice has been paired with gruff rappers telling scary stories, the effect is unnerving and memorable. Adrian Younge Presents The Delfonics is 13 new songs written by producer Adrian Younge and William Hart and recorded with Younge’s band. Their cross-generational link results in songs that capture the relationship between The Delfonics’ music and hip-hop — songs that get under your skin and stay there.

For more on the story about the album and how it came to be, read this interview with Younge and Hart from Wax Poetics.

Listen to the album in its entirety here.

Purchased the album here.

DRGN KNG Photo by Nicky Devine

Who’d we forget? Probably dozens more. Our apologies if we left you out. We hope you get the point though; these days, Philly is miles deep and miles wide with talent and creativity. If 2012 was a “ten,” here’s 15 reasons why Philly’s music scene is about to go to 11 in 2013.

1. The highly anticipated Kanine Records debut from power punk rockers Bleeding Rainbow, Yeah Right, out on January 29th.

2. Not wanting to be out powered by their noise brothers and sister – Bleeding Rainbow – Purling Hiss tear the blisters off their fingers when they release Water On Mars on Drag City on March 19th. Hiss guitarist Mike Polizze redefines the concept of “shredding.”

3. Not from the old school or from the new, rapper GrandeMarshall is from his own trippy, ethereal school of hip-hop. Recently signed to Fool’s Gold, his 800 mixtape was one of the best of ’12, and there’s more to come in the one-three.

4. The recent return of Reef The Lost Cauze with Reef The Lost Cauze Is Dead.

5. Don’t call it a comeback he’s been here for years: William Hart, lead singer of The Delfonics is back with the sounds of symphonic soul with Adrian Younge.

6. Roots collaborators Greg Porn and Truck North are in serious music making mode.

7. Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick and singer-songwriter Brendan Mulvihill, aka Norwegian Arms, release their new Wolf Like A Stray Dog album on January 15th. It’s a collection of wonderful wierdworld indie-folk.

8. Pattern Is Movement will release its new album, There Will Be, next year. PIM performed new material at this show recently and by all indications the new jawns are mind blowingly funky and right on time. Rumour on the street is that new record was inspired by drummer Chris Ward and keyboardist Andrew Thiboldeaux listening to thousands of hours of Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange. When they hear the new PIM album, the Dirty Projectors will attempt to make a record like Drake’s Take Care and fail.

9. We’re pretty certain that Work Drugs will continue to release at least one new song a month. If not, we’ll be disappointed.

10. Not familiar with the mind blowing pianotechnics of jazz pianist Elew? Well you should be. This past summer he released Elew Rockjazz, Volume 2, and we’re just saying that his takes on rock classics will take you to another planet, which is a good thing. Originally from Camden, NJ and a graduate of Overbrook High, Elew is Eric Lewis. He’s toured with Wynton Marsalis, Josh Groban, Cassandra Wilson and many others. His musical world Is a planet where Thelonius Monk, Keith Jarrett, Michael Jackson and The Killers all make sweet music together. Don’t lose sight of this guy.

11. The Fleeting Ends is a trio who release their second album, Our Eyes Are Peeled on January 29th. Their attention to pop detail, songwriting and arrangements is frighteningly good, bordering on obsessive. Oh yeah: string arrangements by the legendary Larry Gold.

12. Dominic Angelella and Ritz Reynolds are DRGN KNG. The geniuses at Bar None Records were smart enough to sign them and are releasing Paragraph Nights on January 22nd. Oh yeah, did you catch that nice little writeup in Rolling Stone?

13. Ron Gallo and his band of merry ramshackle roots rockers Toy Soldiers release their new album next year. Produced by Bill Moriarty, Maybe Boys promises to deliver on their fun live performances and Gallo’s knack for writing songs that bring to mind a Sun Records meeting of The Band.

14. Our pals Free Energy unleash their new collection of bubblegum indie-rock, Love Sign, on January 15th. More infectious than The Cars and the Ohio Express.

15. When he’s not bassing it up for The War On Drugs, Dave Hartley, has his own groovy musical project called Nightlands. Hartley releases Oak Island on Secretly Canadian on January 22nd. While we are certainly amazing by his musical talents, Hartley is also a pretty sharp basketball fan and shares his insights with us in his basketball column for us, Top Of The Key.