Yo-Yo (rapper)

Yo-Yo
Yo-Yo in 1997
Born	Yolanda Whitaker (1971-08-04) August 4, 1971 (age 53) Compton, California, U.S.
Occupations	Rapper songwriter actress
Spouse	DeAndre Windom ​ ​ (m. 2013; div. 2016)​ [contradictory]
Partner(s)	Kelvin J. King (2023–present; engaged)
Musical career
Origin	South Central, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	West Coast hip hop
Years active	1989–present
Labels	East West America
Website	yoyoschoolofhiphop.com
Musical artist

Yolanda "Yo-Yo" Whitaker (born August 4, 1971)^[1] is an American rapper and actress.

Much of Yo-Yo's music advocates female empowerment. She is the protégé of gangsta rapper Ice Cube. Yo-Yo has dubbed her crew the IBWC, Intelligent Black Woman's Coalition.^[2] She also performed on a couple of stages with Shock G's group Digital Underground.

Yo-Yo first appeared as a guest on Ice Cube's 1990 debut studio album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted on the track "It's a Man's World".^[3] Cube returned the favor by appearing on "You Can't Play with My Yo-Yo", on Yo-Yo's 1991 debut album, Make Way for the Motherlode.^[3] Each of the videos for the singles from the album were directed by Okuwah Garrett of Power Films.

Her follow-up album released in 1992, Black Pearl,^[3] was well received by critics,^[4] partly because of its focus on positive messages and uplifting themes that heavily contrasted with the popular gangsta rap style at the time.^[4] Despite a plethora of renowned producers such as DJ Muggs, this failed to translate into a hit with mainstream hip-hop audiences, and the album's sales were considered a disappointment.^[4]

Less than a year later, Yo-Yo released her follow-up album, titled You Better Ask Somebody.^[3] The final track on the album was her third recorded hip-hop duet with Ice Cube, "The Bonnie and Clyde Theme".^[3]

Yo-Yo's next album, Total Control, was released in 1996.^[3] In 1998, Yo-Yo finished her fifth studio album, Ebony, though it was not released. In 2008, her single, "You Can't Play With My Yo-Yo" was ranked number 92 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs.^[5] Later that year, she performed with MC Lyte, The Lady of Rage, and Salt-N-Pepa at the BET Hip Hop Awards. She also performed on the Arsenio Hall show in 1994 alongside many other famous rappers and rap groups. Yo-Yo opened up the show and was later followed by rappers and groups like Naughty by Nature, A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan.

As of 2009, Yo-Yo has been working on an EP, titled My Journey to Fearless: The Black Butterfly.^[6]

In 2013, it was announced she joined the upcoming BET reality series Hip Hop Sisters which will focus on six female rappers' lives and their attempts to relaunch their careers.^[7] Other rappers confirmed to appear are MC Lyte, Lady of Rage, Monie Love, Lil Mama, and Smooth.^[8] Yo-Yo currently hosts a cooking show on the Aspire network "Downright Delicious with Yo-Yo."^[9]

Yo-Yo appeared in the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood. She had a recurring role on the television show Martin as Keylolo, the sidekick to comedian Martin Lawrence's alter ego Sheneneh. Yo-Yo also appeared on other TV shows, including the Fox network's New York Undercover. She made a cameo appearance in the music video for Missy Elliot's "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)". She also appeared in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as the voice of Kendl Johnson.^[10] She has a reoccurring role in the series Saturdays on Disney Plus starring role as skating rink owner, Duchess.

Yo-Yo was in a relationship with Tupac Shakur for some time in the 1990s. She was with Shakur in the hospital shortly before he died.^[11] Later, Yo-Yo became engaged to DeAndre Windom, the former mayor of Highland Park, Michigan, in August 2012.^[12] The two married on August 17,^[13] 2013 in the Cayman Islands^[14] and divorced in 2016.^[15]

In November 2023 Yo-Yo became engaged to Kelvin J. King a successful Businessman and Real Estate Mogul from South Jamaica Queens New York City.

Yo-Yo has been active in advocating for hip-hop artists to become involved within their community. Notably, she testified in 1994 for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about whether the government should require rating labels on gangsta rap.^[16] She also founded the Yo-Yo School of Hip-Hop to use hip-hop in curriculum for at-risk students.^[17]

Studio albums

• Make Way for the Motherlode (1991)
• Black Pearl (1992)
• You Better Ask Somebody (1993)
• Total Control (1996)

• Yo-Yo at IMDb
• Yo-Yo School of Hip Hop
• Wilson, Kendall (February 22, 1994). "NPCBW's campaign against vulgar rap gets national support". Philadelphia Tribune. p. 1-A. ProQuest 337694146.