One local Greeley rapper’s music has finally started to take off. ROOKE5 released Colossal Chronicles on January 22nd and received lots of positive feedback on his project. The 24 year-old rapper started performing when he was 13 growing up in northern Colorado. The local hip-hop artist has been working hard on Colossal Chronicles for the past three years and has finally completed his well constructed project. The album is the first for the rapper Luke Whitrock, better known as ROOKE5.
Whitrock used to rap under the name Rookie but claimed that “I have finally refined my rap,” and has since changed his name to ROOKE5, a reference to the chess move Rook to E5. Luke cleverly chose the Rook to represent himself as a rapper because it is the second strongest piece on the chessboard, next to the queen. In the track “Storm The Castle,” ROOKE5 talks about “storming the castle to take out the queen.” ROOKE5 claims that this is “a reference to me storming the music industry in order to make some new rap worth listening to.” He feels a lot of rap these days is not saying much of value, and he wants to help the Colorado hip-hop scene grow as much as possible. ROOKE5 has been a passionate hip-hop fan his whole life and is excited to see his music help push the hip-hop scene, especially here.
ROOKE5’ new release extensively shows off his newly refined lyrical talent. The local artist claimed he’s “not rapping for money but for the love of hip-hop… Fans seem to be so hungry for new intelligent rap.” He wants to help feed that hunger as much as he can, with the hope to promote his work and make a living, but “it’s never been about the money.” There is no doubt that ROOKE5 has delivered a masterful 14-track album that shows off his dedication to the genre. The emcee, originally from Loveland, moved to Texas at the age of 14 and was there until 2010. It was in Texas where he began to focus on making his lyrics stronger and developing his style. When ROOKE5 returned to Colorado, he finished the Colossal Chronicles, hoping that this album would show that he’s reached a new professional level and would help promote his ideals for the Colorado hip-hop scene.
Along with being full of intelligent lyrics, Colossal Chronicles has a high production quality, which ROOKE5 crafted with DJs such as Hirolla, from the U.K.; Captain Midnite from Seattle, Washington; Denver’s Blacksheep; and Epoch When, from northern Colorado. Each conducted an outstanding job throughout the production, showcasing ROOKE5’ catchy verses and hooks. The stand-out tracks on the Colossal Chronicles include “Rise,” “Momentum,” and “Clockwork.”
ROOKE5 will continue to work on his rap, hoping to “finish two projects by the end of the year.” He is clearly grabbing the attention of the Colorado hip-hop scene and is pushing for fans to enjoy his music while sharing it with as many people as possible. Check out some of his tracks at ROOKE5.com and SoundCloud.com/ROOKE5.
