It’s been an epic year for Fort Wayne’s Sankofa. The towering MC, wordsmith, and all-around super creative force has dropped close to a dozen releases with a steady stream of talented producers/beatmakers/friends, never stopping to reflect on what came before. Sankofa is not one to take a moment and bask. As soon as a project drops, he’s usually got something else on the backburner, simmering like a nice gumbo: words, ideas, beats, and melodies coming together like comfort food for the head and heart. 

If you follow Sankofa in the socials, you know VLTR KMBT is the cherry on the musical sundae that he’s been serving up all year long. 

VLTR KMBT is a collaborative album with rapper ACT-1 and they bring the fire on this end-of-year release. This is the definitive period at the end of 2022’s run-on sentence. Sankofa and ACT-1 have saved the ruckus for last, and it was worth the wait. 

If there’s one person that gives us the whole package with each album release, it’s Sankofa. He makes each album unique, from physical releases to hats to T-shirts to collectible socks (this MC loves some seriously dope socks) to hoodies. But if the music wasn’t so dope, all the swag in the world wouldn’t matter. Sankofa and ACT-1 put their money where their rhymes are, and of course it pays off.

In fifteen tracks of boom bap, old-school samples, Sankofa and ACT-1 lay down some serious vernacular fire. But as Kofa has said before, and will continue to say, this is a collaborative effort. Guest appearances include JON?DOE, Showrocka, Jeff Spec, and more. With next-level production and plenty of melody, tracks like “Check the Word of Mouth,” “Underwater Ballerinas,” and “Flowerpot Head” show a balance between muscle and subtlety.

Elsewhere, “Strawberry Kiwi” comes in hard with a killer string sample and Kofa’s longtime friend/collaborator from The Silversmiths JON?DOE guesting for a few verses. “Japan to Atlanta” features Jeff Spec and has an almost melancholy feel to it in the production. “RainHailSnowAnd­Earthquakes” closes things out and features a crew that includes JON?DOE, Chuck Brown, Paavo, Ekspan, Quintessential, and Memphis Reigns. Did they save the best for last? Possibly. 

It’s safe to say that 2022 was the year for Sankofa. VLTR KMBT is proof of that.