R&B Trivia: Oakland
ALL OF MY IDEAS ARE RANDOM. Well, not really. It might seem like I get a random idea but the truth is that I’ve sat on that idea for months (usually years) and iterated that idea in my mind over 1,000 times. That’s the Virgo placements in my chart, for sure.
R&B Trivia wasn’t exactly my idea though. About a decade and some change ago (!!!), my former Clark Atlanta University classmate and real down-to-Mars girl, Stephanye, ran a R&B Trivia in New York City’s Lower East Side for years. My first experience with bar trivia was actually at her version of R&B Trivia all those years ago. So, of course, I must pay homage to the doll.
My version of R&B Trivia starts with grieving. The first event I went to when I finally emerged from my grief cocoon earlier this year was Rap Trivia at 51 & Tel which is hosted by Sayre, Jesse, and Marcus. As a lowkey (highkey?) rap nerd, I loved it! It’s filled with a bunch of deep cuts and obscure rapper references. All those years I spent on underground hip-hop message boards as a teen really started to pay off and I kept placing in the top 3. An attendee once asked, “what are you, some sort of rap anthropologist?” to which my answer was “yes!”, of course.
Photos courtesy of Samuel Jimenez from R&B Trivia on July 16, 2025 in Oakland. If you'd like to see video of the event, you can view it here.So, you’re probably wondering how the R&B Trivia came about. Well…
R&B Trivia is something I had tried to do the year prior. In fact, I promoted and hosted an R&B Trivia to happen in August 2024 in Oakland and exactly no one came. It was a humbling experience that left me feeling like I should never, ever try to do events. That realization saddened me because I have many, many event ideas. But I’ve never been the person to force anything.
So, here I am in 51 & Tel almost one year later, grieving terribly, trying to lift my spirits, and at this Rap Trivia event. It was my second time attending.
There were maybe five people there to play. Actually, it might have been just three—there was definitely a couple on a first date who seemed more interested in the open air on the patio than the trivia. Sayre remembered me from before, and we got to chatting. When I mentioned my R&B Trivia dream and my spectacular failure the year before, something unexpected happened. He asked if I wanted to try again the following week—turns out he'd be out of town, so the night was open for experimenting. I jumped at the chance for redemption.
“Our attendees aren’t just consumers; they’re cultural curators, tastemakers, and community builders who value brands that invest in the experiences that matter to them.”
The overall theme, the clues, the music… that all came easy. What I didn’t know was how to actually get people to show up. So I made a post to TikTok and hoped for the best.
This time, 40 people showed up.
And everyone had a ball. And the bartenders told me they made the most money in tips they’d ever made that night. And the attendees kept asking me when the next one was. So, I’d say things were a success. Or, at least I had hoped. Wednesday nights at 51 & Tel were reserved for Rap Trivia. The R&B Trivia was just a one-time fill in.
As the TikTok algorithm would have it, most people saw my post after the event ended. So there were more than a few comments asking, “When’s the next one?” and I’d find clever ways to basically say “tell them you want me to come back!”. Of course, I also really, really wanted them to ask me to come back because I had a lot of fun putting it together and it was a welcome distraction from the grief.
It didn’t take long for them to ask me to come back.
The July event ended up bringing more than double attendees than the previous one. Actually, 120 people RSVP’d and it seemed like almost everyone who RSVP’d brought a plus one. We ran out of seats. We also got our first alcohol sponsor that night. Another success!
And we’ve been keeping it going ever since. With bigger and better prizes. This winter might bring some interesting breaks and pauses because you know how we do in the Bay when it gets rainy outside. But the people have pretty much demanded that we keep this going. So, I guess, we’re keeping it going.
It turns out that my random ideas might be my best ideas. And my random ideas are great ideas to sponsor (if you're into that sort of thing)! R&B Trivia is just one example. Our attendees aren't just consumers; they're cultural curators, tastemakers, and community builders who value brands that invest in the experiences that matter to them.
Every packed Wednesday night, every record bar tip, every 'this is exactly what Oakland needed' comment proves the same thing: my random ideas create organic community events your marketing team dreams about. Holla at me!
R&B Trivia is a free event in Oakland, CA. It happens on every 3rd Wednesday, 7PM, at 51 & Tel (in Temescal District).
