Yo-Yo (rapper) - Wikipedia

American rapper and actress (born 1971)

Yo-Yo
Yo-Yo in 1997
Born	Yolanda Whitaker (1971-08-04) August 4, 1971 (age 54)Compton, California, U.S.
Occupations	Rapper songwriter actress
Spouse	DeAndre Windom ​ ​(m. 2013; div. 2016)​
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 from South Los Angeles.

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

Career

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Music

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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 the work of 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]

Acting

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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 neighbor (also played by Martin Lawrence) 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 action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) 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.

Personal life

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Yo-Yo was in a relationship with fellow rapper Tupac Shakur for some time in the 1990s. She was with him 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]

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] She is an honorary member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority.[18]

Discography

[edit] Main article: Yo-Yo discography Studio albums

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

Filmography

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Film

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Boyz n the Hood	Herself
1993	Who's the Man?	Woman
	Menace II Society	Girl at Party
	Strapped	Ann	TV movie
	Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit	Sondra
1995	Panther	Pregnant Junkie
1997	Sprung	Sista No. 3
	Trials of Life	Jennifer	TV movie
1999	The Breaks	Loretha
	Beverly Hood	Tilly
2000	3 Strikes	Charita
2001	Longshot	Herself
2002	Paper Soldiers	Judge Prince	[19]
2006	Da Jammies	Mrs. Mangual (voice)	Short
	Waist Deep	Female Radio DJ (voice)
2016	Janitors	Herself

Television

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992-98	Soul Train	Herself	Recurring Guest
1993–95	Martin	Keylolo	Recurring Cast: Season 1 & 3
1995	New York Undercover	Nikki	Episode: "You Get No Respect"
1996	Moesha	Security Guard	Episode: "A Concerted Effort: Part 1"
1997	The Parent 'Hood	Audrey	Episode: "When Robert Met Jerri"
1998	The Jamie Foxx Show	Kierston	Episode: "Passenger 187"
2008	Ego Trip's Miss Rap Supreme	Herself/Co-Host	Main Co-Host
	The Greatest	Herself	Episode: "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs"
2011	Way Black When: Primetime	Herself	Episode: "Episode 1.12"
2014–22	Unsung	Herself	Recurring Guest
2015	Da Jammies	The Real Rosanne (voice)	Episode: "Old School"
2017	Unsung Hollywood	Herself	Episode: "Tupac Shakur"
2018	Unsolved	Pretty Woman	Episode: "Wherever It Leads"
2019	Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood	Herself	Main Cast: Season 6
2022–23	Double Cross	Taye	Guest Cast: Season 3–4
2023	Saturdays	Duchess	Recurring Cast
	Downright Delicious with Yo-Yo	Herself/Host	Main Host

Music videos

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Year	Song	Artist	Role
1995	2Pac	"Temptations"	Girl in Last Room
1997	Missy Elliott	"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"	Herself

Video games

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Kendl Johnson (voice)
2021	Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition		Archival recordingsRemaster of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas only

Documentary

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Year	Title
1999	After Stonewall
2010	The Wordz Project
	My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women and Hip Hop
2011	The Power of Words

Awards and nominations

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Year	Award
1995	MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Rap Video for "I Wanna Be Down" (Remix) (featuring Brandy, MC Lyte and Queen Latifah)[citation needed]
1996	Grammy Award nomination for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance – Duo or Group for "Stomp"[citation needed]

References

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Notes

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Citations

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1. ^ Ron Wynn (August 4, 1971). "Yo-Yo | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
2. ^ "Summer Splash III". (May 26, 1991). Los Angeles Times, p. 50
3. ^ a b c d e f Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 372/3. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
4. ^ a b c Abdul-Adil, Jaleel (August 1, 1993), "Yo Yo and MC Lyte Turn Tables on Male Rappers", Chicago Sun-Times, p. 9
5. ^ "VH1′s 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs". Stereogum. September 29, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
6. ^ "Lifestyle | Icons Speak: YoYo Talks Keri Hilson, Female Emcees, more". Singersroom.com. January 6, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
7. ^ "MC Lyte to Executive Produce 'Hip Hop Sisters' on BET". Black Enterprise. June 12, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
8. ^ "@VIBEVixen» BET Announces 'Hip Hop Sisters' and Jeanette Jenkins Reality Series » Madison Lafayette". Vibevixen.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
9. ^ "Yo-Yo Is In Her Happy Place On 'Downright Delicious With Yo-Yo' Cooking Show". Vibe.com. June 10, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
10. ^ Jones, Francis. "Ice Cube – AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (album review 3)". sputnikmusic.com. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
11. ^ "Unsung". TVOne. September 21, 2015. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
12. ^ Blackman, Ritch (August 24, 2012). "Rapper Yo Yo Engaged To Highland Park, Mi Mayor". UnsungHipHop. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
13. ^ "Facebook". Facebook.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
14. ^ Sylk, Sam (2013). "Yo Yo's Husband, Mayor DeAndre Windom, Shot In Detroit Nightclub". Wzakcleveland. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
15. ^ "MC Lyte, Yo-Yo & Remy Ma Featured in New Episode of OWN's 'Girlfriends Check-In' [Video]". Hiphopwired.com. July 17, 2020.
16. ^ "Free Speech for Rappers". The Progressive. 58 (4): 9. April 1994.
17. ^ "Compton Artist YoYo Gives Students Hip-Hop Education". NBC Southern California. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
18. ^ "Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Introduces Three Esteemed Honorary Members". Prnewswire.com. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
19. ^ "Full cast and crew for Paper Soldiers (2002)". IMDb. Retrieved June 2, 2013.

External links

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• Yo-Yo at AllMusic
• Yo-Yo discography at Discogs
• 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.

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat
National	United States
Artists	MusicBrainz 2 Grammy Awards
People	Trove Deutsche Biographie