With touch points around the world — born in Johannesburg, South Africa, raised in Salt Lake City, UT and now based in Los Angeles — rapper turned singer songwriter Dean Risko has a wide view of the world and what it means to be a human in it. This has always been reflected in his work, but now more than ever after a long hiatus, he embeds a personal sense of clarity and wisdom into his music, pulling from life experience and growth; the honest and raw cultivation of a human soul is the groundworks for Risko’s new album The Good Wolf, out now.
This post may contain affiliate links. Ads and affiliate links are how independent blogs like Grimy Goods can operate and pay our staff. Thank you for supporting our work and being a part of our music community.
The Good Wolf is a methodical tale of life. It’s a reflection on Risko’s own lived experiences with grander themes and lessons woven in along the way. From good times to bad, fighting a battle of morality with the self, reflecting on relationships or just trying to find your way, Risko leaves an open channel in his music to explore all that fills up a life and what you can learn from it and how you can change your life path for the better.
Sonically, the album keeps a steady pace, with elements of alternative rock, hip hop, R&B neo-soul, pop and rap. Risko mixes these genres together into a smooth blend of lo-fi tracks that bleed into one another seamlessly.
Touching on the ego, what drives us as humans and individuals to the simple act of making choices, Risko explores life themes through a philosophical lens that encompasses a wide source of knowledge and perspective. From the album’s title track, Risko takes the story of the two wolves (the origin of which is often attributed to Cherokee or Lenape people), one good and one bad, to relate to his own personality, the choices he’s made and the delicate balance between feeding your vices and learning to use them for good.
“We’ve all got two wolves inside,” notes Risko. “One with an appetite for fear and the other for love. The one you feed becomes dominant. Feed The Good Wolf”
The Good Wolf comes after a long hiatus — a necessity for Risko as he went through addition and recovery. The difficult self transformation for Risko became the fuel for his new album and proof that the human spirit is resilient and can be born again from the flames, should one be willing to be honest with themself and not be afraid to fight those hard, internal battles with oneself. Honest, raw and with good backing instrumentals, The Good Wolf is a personal journey made relatable and accessible to all.
Words: Patti Sanchez
For more on Dean Risko, make sure to visit his Bandcamp and follow him on Instagram.
