Ice cube and yoyo relationship
Yo-Yo (rapper)
American rapper and actress
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 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.
Career
Music
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
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.
Personal life
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]
Discography
Main article: Yo-Yo discography
- Studio albums
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Video games
Documentary
Awards and nominations
References
Notes
Citations
- ^Ron Wynn (August 4, 1971). "Yo-Yo | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
- ^"SUMMER SPLASH III". (May 26, 1991). L.A. Times, p. 50
- ^ abcdefColin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 372/3. ISBN .
- ^ abcAbdul-Adil, Jaleel (August 1, 1993), "Yo Yo and MC Lyte Turn Tables on Male Rappers", Chicago Sun-Times, p. 9
- ^"VH1′s 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs". Stereogum. September 29, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^"Lifestyle | Icons Speak: YoYo Talks Keri Hilson, Female Emcees, more". . January 6, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^"MC Lyte to Executive Produce 'Hip Hop Sisters' on BET". Black Enterprise. June 12, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^"@VIBEVixen» BET Announces 'Hip Hop Sisters' and Jeanette Jenkins Reality Series » Madison Lafayette". Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
- ^"Yo-Yo Is In Her Happy Place On 'Downright Delicious With Yo-Yo' Cooking Show". June 10, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
- ^Jones, Francis. "Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (album review 3)". . Sputnik Music. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^"Unsung". TVOne. September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
- ^Blackman, Ritch (August 24, 2012). "Rapper Yo Yo Engaged To Highland Park, Mi Mayor". UnsungHipHop. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
- ^"Facebook". . Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^Sylk, Sam (2013). "Yo Yo's Husband, Mayor DeAndre Windom, Shot In Detroit Nightclub". WZAK. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- ^"MC Lyte, Yo-Yo & Remy Ma Featured in New Episode of OWN's 'Girlfriends Check-In' [Video]". July 17, 2020.
- ^"Free Speech for Rappers". The Progressive. 58 (4): 9. April 1994 – via ProQuest Central.
- ^"Compton Artist YoYo Gives Students Hip-Hop Education". NBC Southern California. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^"Full cast and crew for Paper Soldiers (2002)". IMDb. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
External links
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