135:, without explicitly identifying the event as a rent party. Some hosts would distribute these tickets to friends, neighbors, and acquaintances, while some hosts would pass tickets to random strangers, often hiding them amid various public spaces. Many were still careful when it came to handing out tickets, not wanting to attract the attention of police. Tickets never explicitly referred to events as rent parties, instead referring to them as a "Social Party" or a "Social Dance."
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27:) is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play and pass the hat to raise money to pay their rent, originating in Harlem during the 1920s. These parties were a means for Black tenants to eat, dance, and get away from everyday hardship and discrimination. The rent party played a major role in the development of jazz and blues music, alongside forms of
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African
Americans were still faced with social and economic discrimination within these urban areas, most notably when it came to rental payments. Black tenants were required to pay higher apartment rent than white tenants for small and cramped apartments, all while making less money as well. While a
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Out of this grew the grounds for rent parties. Parties were hosted to raise enough money to make up the difference in rent due. While this was the original intent of these sorts of parties, eventually, they grew so popular that tenants started to throw them to supplement their salaries. Rent parties
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started his version of the rent party as an online streaming concert on Monday nights to provide income for his trio with bassist
Russell Hall, drummer Kyle Poole, as well as other musicians living or traveling through New York. The concert series is titled "Live From Emmet's Place." The in-person
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would also host rent parties as fronts. Because of this, Black intellectuals of the time looked down upon these gatherings, worrying that they would reflect badly upon
African Americans as a whole. Nevertheless, rent parties were also seen as means of building Black community and a creative way to
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playing had emerged, which involved the left hand performing rhythmic chords, while the right had would play out blues melodies and riffs. The play style emerged due to the crowded nature of the parties, with the tenants wanting to hire as few musicians as possible. Because of this, lone piano
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personally collected various rent party tickets and wrote and about his fond memories of rent parties. As a poet, he was fond of the little rhymes found on each of the party tickets and would store them in a personal collection. These can be found now amidst his other papers within the Yale
107:, hundreds of thousands of African Americans began to move north into more urbanized areas of the United States. This was brought on with the need for a large labor force to help supply the war effort. Many at the time sought out new employment opportunities, as well as a means to escape
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Rent parties were very competitive, with up to twelve occurring on a single block within any given week. Rent parties were considered to be much rowdier than the average house party at the time, with drugs, gambling, and paid rooms for sex being widely available. Gangsters and
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players would have to entertain the entire party. The busy nature of the play style would compensate for the lack of an actual band. The style was referred to as the "Harlem Stride" and was popularized by several notable jazz musicians, such as James P Johnson,
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The cost of admission ranged around 25 cents. Parties were typically held on
Saturdays, which was when many of the laborers were paid, or on Thursdays, which was when most domestic workers were off duty. Hosts often provided a variety of southern
147:. Live music and dancing was also a popular feature. Piano players and jazz bands were invited to provide live music for dancing. Dancing was a big part of the scene, often accompanied with contests and newly-invented dance moves.
168:, were invented through these parties. The Lindy Hop in particular was a jazz-based dance style that was heavily based on improvisation and swing dancing. This dance style would eventually gain popularity at the
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white family was more likely to make around $ 1,600 a year, a black family was more likely to make around $ 1,300. Alongside that, black tenants would often have to pay $ 20-$ 30 more in rent than white tenants.
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Rent parties were predominantly advertised through "rent party tickets." These were printed as business cards and leaflets in order to be easily distributed. These tickets often had quirky rhymes or
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means "rent party", indicating the informality of the occasion. Thus, the word became associated with informal music. However, many notable jazz musicians are associated with rent parties, including
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Rent parties had a great impact on dance within the 1920s. Due to these parties being so crowded and highly energetic, the dance styles were often erratic and unpredictable. Dance styles, like the
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in the south. Over the course of this time, around 1.5 million
African Americans had moved up north and taken up factory positions or other urban jobs. Of that population, 200,000 had migrated to
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also evolved into an event of cultural importance, as rent parties were places for middle-class
African Americans to go on their nights off and get away from the everyday struggle.
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Rent parties not featuring either jazz or specifically
African American crowds are featured in the plots of movies set in New York during the 1980s and 1990s such as
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500:"Discover Langston Hughes' Rent Party Ads & The Harlem Renaissance Tradition of Playing Gigs to Keep Roofs Over Heads"
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296:"Harlem Rent Parties - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress"
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Rent parties were also the birthplace of new forms of music.
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Beinecke Rare Books and
Manuscripts Library, Yale University
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Beinecke Rare Books and
Manuscripts Library, Yale University
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475:"House Rent Parties: The Vintage Swing & Blues Era"
224:. One of the uploaded concert videos featuring singer
207:. Due to the disappearance of paid gigs during the
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211:in the United States, pianist and Harlem resident
87:Rent parties were often the location of so-called
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203:The rent party experienced a revival during the
397:West, Aberjhani; West, Sandra L., eds. (2003).
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572:Satisfy your Soul and Let the Good Times Roll
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639:Sorted by occasions, purposes or attributes
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405:. Infobase Publishing. pp. 279–280.
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34:Oxford English Dictionary
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318:Oxford University Press
186:Willie "The Lion" Smith
64:Willie "the Lion" Smith
16:Type of social occasion
336:Oakley, Giles (1997).
103:, and at the start of
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431:"Harlem Rent Parties"
374:"The Great Migration"
37:states that the term
780:Political houseparty
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23:(sometimes called a
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1139:Western dress codes
837:Film awards seasons
530:. Purdue University
320:, 2011), chapter 4
314:The History of Jazz
1414:Harlem Renaissance
1373:Society portal
1333:New Year's glasses
844:Religious festival
765:Housewarming party
667:Bachelorette party
271:Harlem Renaissance
232:In popular culture
1419:Culture of Harlem
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1174:Black lounge suit
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359:978-0-306-80743-5
340:The Devil's Music
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1303:Cotton candy
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1245:Opera gloves
1230:Evening gown
1218:Bridal crown
1213:Contemporary
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1081:Pamper party
1044:Cuddle party
956:Subway party
918:World's fair
815:Spring break
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555:The Guardian
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532:. Retrieved
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507:. Retrieved
504:Open Culture
503:
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483:. Retrieved
481:. 2013-02-14
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440:November 23,
438:. Retrieved
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399:"rent party"
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1103:Quiet party
1098:Pizza party
1076:Kitty party
1049:Dance party
1032:Naked party
1000:Baby shower
978:Anniversary
951:Block party
928:County fair
710:Eid cuisine
692:Eid al-Fitr
687:Eid al-Adha
479:Jered Morin
316:, 2nd ed. (
312:Ted Gioia,
213:Emmet Cohen
182:Fats Waller
145:Prohibition
105:World War I
78:also gives
68:Fats Waller
52:Georgia Tom
25:house party
1408:Categories
1343:Party horn
1318:Glow stick
1066:Foam party
1059:Homecoming
1027:Toga party
1022:Drag party
933:Trade fair
923:State fair
900:Heortology
785:Rent party
509:2020-02-19
485:2020-02-19
348:. p.
282:References
259:Rent Party
249:(starring
246:Party Girl
238:Steely Dan
153:racketeers
133:euphemisms
21:rent party
1338:Party bus
1328:Party hat
1279:Equipment
1240:Debutante
1235:Ball gown
1169:Black tie
1152:White tie
1118:Tea party
849:Christmas
802:Festivals
775:LAN party
770:Sleepover
737:Symposium
730:Hunt ball
631:festivals
534:12 August
236:The band
166:Lindy Hop
1393:Category
1298:Confetti
1181:Informal
1131:Clothing
1091:Marching
990:Ceremony
854:Carnival
810:Holidays
702:Banquets
655:-related
276:Jazz Age
265:See also
218:Facebook
209:lockdown
45:pianists
1286:Balloon
1257:Garters
983:Jubilee
653:Wedding
627:Parties
435:Loc.gov
300:Loc.gov
222:YouTube
95:History
40:skiffle
1265:Casual
1194:Casual
1147:Formal
1108:Ritual
1086:Parade
946:Picnic
859:Feasts
409:
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322:Harlem
184:, and
160:Legacy
113:Harlem
81:boogie
66:, and
31:. The
1383:Media
1313:Float
1225:Dress
910:Fairs
864:Fools
645:Types
377:(PDF)
350:148/9
72:bands
1186:Suit
1054:Prom
883:Wine
878:Beer
720:Ball
629:and
536:2022
442:2016
407:ISBN
354:ISBN
220:and
588:),
76:OED
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