NPR hosted a panel to rap (pun intended) about a popular music industry topic of discussion–when was rap’s “Golden Era”?  Posing the ideal year as 1993, panelists reflected on the music business and the culture of hip-hop as it stood then. Reservoir Senior Vice President of Creative & Business Development Faith Newman was among those tapped to look back.

With outlets like Billboard and Rap Genius in attendance, the event was more than the average roundtable.  Hosted by NPR’s Frannie Kelly and rapper/DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, speakers weighed in on 1993 parties, fashion, and community in addition to music industry status-quo.

Speaking to early ’90s music discovery habits, Newman was quoted saying:

“I remember going to buy [a record] and [on the way out], a bunch of people would crowd around and we’d talk about each record. [We’d speak on why we’re getting it, where we discovered them] and then everybody would walk away with their vinyl… The other thing too is that there was a sense of community. We all went to the same clubs, same parties on the same nights, and everybody knew about every new record coming out. It was a very kind of insular community. We showed the videos, heard the records on the mix shows, went to buy the vinyl and went to the clubs. That was our social network.”