At 9:30 p.m. El Rincon was practically empty. The host L Seven, was still doing microphone and sound checks. The smell of oil from fried food filled the air, and at the 2×4 bar a few patrons ordered beers and rainbow colored drinks. Whitney White slowly sipped on a drink, and chatted with a friend as she waited for the 18 and over crowd to begin filling the small restaurant that doubles as a nightclub.
White’s boyfriend was going to perform that night at the monthly party, that night titled “White T’s and Panties 2.” Her third time there, the 23-year-old made the trip from her home in East Palo Alto to support her boyfriend—21-year-old Dacari Spires, who goes by the name F.Y.B. He’s the most popular of the performers, she said remembering her first Wednesday Night hype.
“I was kind of iffy and I didn’t want to bond,” she said. “But everyone was saying hi. It was really diverse and all the groups were supporting each other. I really liked the vibe.”
But that soon changed as the popularity of F.Y.B. grew. Now, she said, she has to deal with “groupies” who give her dirty looks and fight for the attention of her boyfriend.
A “regular,” F.Y.B. (Free Yo Bitch) performs at every Wednesday Night Hype party or every third Wednesday at El Rincon, and has gained a small local following.
White was right. His on-stage energy fueled by a large on-stage entourage was intoxicating. When the host announced the performer, a hoard of women in high
heels, short shorts and tight jeans (mostly under 21, given away by their lack of wristbands) moved toward the stage to gain a front row place and sang along to his sexually charged songs.
He attracted the biggest crowd, and everyone knew the words to the tracks.
“I’m cool with females. For some reason my whole show is always filled with women,” said F.Y.B after his act.
Why? F.Y.B. doesn’t know. But try energy gyrating hips and long dreadlocks. He’s hoping the combo will help him gain recognition on a broader scale.
“I just do my own thing. I don’t try to sound like nobody else. I don’t try to be like nobody else. I’m trying to take this to where it’ll take me to do great things,” he said as women hovered nearby to get a glimpse of his bright smile.
F.Y.B said when he’s not making music he’s is a home care service provider for the elderly, something he said he has been doing most of his life. He said he loves helping people and if he can do that with his music he’d be living his dream.
For 24-year-old artist, The Jinxx, the dream is slowly becoming a reality, as he’s making music and performing full time. Also a regular performer at El Rincon’s Wednesday night party, he’s plugged into the local music scene extensively, and did everything from singing to rapping at the party.
“You know these days the genres split. Hip-hop is the closest thing to R&B and R&B is so hip-hop now. So I just make music off of impulses, I don’t have a genre,” he said. “It’s all about diversity and consistency—that’s the way I’m going to win.”
The Fillmore resident said it’s a surprise that he even raps because he didn’t grow up listening to the music. He said Sugar Ray and underground Bay Area rock groups were more his interest. The hip-hop and R&B that he did listen to was mostly East Coast. He mentioned Donnell Jones as his favorite singer. Much underrated, he said.
Jinxx performed several times including a piece he did with a group Mob FAM, called “Candy Cane.” The group members had to remind him of the hook he created before going on. By the time he exited the stage his cornrows (braids) were dripping with sweat, a mix of the heat in the club and his energy on stage.
But Jinxx is a performer and a businessman, highly in tune with marketing. He has an album out with L Seven called “The Rush,” and tracks can be heard and purchased on iTunes and imeem.com, as well as local barbershops, he said. He also keeps copies handy for the random street purchase or to sell at El Rincon.
His strategy: Be ubiquitous.
“If I’m everywhere, and you keep seeing my face everywhere, and you keep hearing me, back to back, one of these is going to catch on,” he said in a back room while another artist performed. “Hip hop is dead—impossible. Music is always growing, there’s always a metamorphosis. And I’m trying to grow with it.”
The Jinxx began doing music full time after he quit his job for a copy and postal business four years ago. About a year after that he began getting offers to sing hooks for pay. Since then he’s opened shows for Young Berg, Young Buck, Ray J and The Dream. Without disclosing specific numbers he said he makes “enough to pay bills.”
Though F.Y.B and The Jinxx said they perform at other venues around San Francisco,
including Etiquette Lounge and Element Lounge, they have an affinity for El Rincon. When they started, people doubted they could fill the place on a Wednesday night. They proved doubters wrong. Or maybe. On this Wednesday night, the crowd was a reasonable size, enough room to dance and see the show from any spot on the small dance floor. But partygoers said that the place is usually packed wall to wall, and DJ Smocha usually spins music between performers—which she didn’t do that night.
For El Rincon owner Michael Ohonba, the Wednesday night party is about giving up-and-coming artists a chance to showcase their craft, stay off the streets and stay out of trouble.
“I see a lot of young people going in the wrong direction, doing drugs; they don’t have role models,” he said. I wanted to give them something to look forward to. If they could see me owning my own business then they could see that anything is possible.”
Ohonba came to San Francisco from Nigeria 32 years ago. He’s owned El Rincon with a silent partner for 15 years, and has been throwing the Wednesday Night Hype party for one year.