“The Newspaper that can’t be bought!” The Village Voice is now distributed free in Manhattan (newsstand price was $1.25) and circulation increases to 230,000. Red newspaper boxes spring up on city streets. Karin Durbin resigns as Editor in Chief and former NY Newsday Editor Donald Forst is appointed. Beck’s Odelay is named best album and Quad City DJs’ “C’mon Ride It (The Train)” was named best single in the Pazz & Jop Music Critic’s poll. Pulitzer-Prize winning rock musical, Rent, opens at the Nederlander Theater. The musical centers around a group of poor young artists struggling to survive in Alphabet City under the shadow of AIDS. Rent wins a special citation at the 1996 Obie Award Ceremony. Bring in ‘da Noise/Bring in ‘da Funk wins a special citation at the Obie Awards. Michael Feingold wins George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism and for Best Column. Ann Powers wins Music Journalist of the Year from the Music Journalism Awards and Conference. Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn-born rapper Jay-Z releases his first album, Reasonable Doubt. Despite its initial lack of recognition, the album is later regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop albums of the 1990s. The Village Voice mourns the passing of founding editor Dan Wolf. The Village Voice mourns the passing of former owner Carter Burden. The Village Voice mourns the passing of Nell Blaine, designer of the original 1955 Voice logo. The Village Voice mourns the passing of Mary Perot Nichols, a former columnist and city editor. 
