It might be hard to believe but 2017 is just about in the books.

It feels like just yesterday we were listening to The Storm for the very first time and yet, here we are nine N9ne albums later, looking back at a year that brought so many highlights from video game placements to a sold-out show at Red Rocks, to Elton John, to, most importantly, the crazy great music that was released.

Considering the epic year, we wanted to break down some highlights, maybe its something you missed–as small as a dope line–or maybe it’s something so big we had to talk about again; its the 2017 rewind.

First up, Ubiquitous’ Metallica-inspired bars on “Highlander”:

Proving that a “2017 Rewind” moment truly could be something small, let’s go back to a select few bars from a deeper cut off the first release of the year.

Though it’s only been 9 months, Ces Cru’s Catastrophic Event Specialists has aged like a fine wine. Well, actually great bars delivered with surgical precision are timeless and proving that is Ubiquitous.

In the middle of his verse, when tackling the state of hip-hop’s current climate, Ubi makes a series of awesome references.

“Hip Hop is dead, motherfuck this I’m gone
Master of Puppets and Justice for All
Load it up, Kill ‘em All Reload and BRAT
Death Magnetic let them all Fade to Black”

Did you catch it?

Master of Puppets. Justice for All. Load. Kill ’em All. Reload. Death Magnetic.

All of those are titles of Metallica albums and “Fade To Black” is a song off Ride Ther Lightening. Ubi turned Metallica album titles into a way to take on the current state of hip-hop!

The references alone are a highlight, but there are levels to this one. Pay close attention to “Hip Hop is dead, motherfuck this I’m gone.” He sticks to his word,  truly leaving the hip-hop behind by using the names of a metal band!

As a whole, “Highlander” is one of the strongest efforts on the album, and don’t get it twisted, Godi bodies his verse — if you see him do this song live you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about–but there’s something so cool, so creative about Ubi’s Metallica tribute that it took the song to the next level.

It might be small in the grand scheme of things, but bars like that are exactly why we all listen, so it’s only right it’s a highlight.

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