American rapper and actress Yolanda Whittaker, better known by her stage name Yo-Yo, is from Compton, California. She would be underselling her talents if she were characterized as just an MC. She is more known for being a Grammy-nominated rapper, an educator, an actress, and a philanthropist. Even so, Yo-Yo and AspireTV collaborated in February to create the cooking show Downright Delicious with Yo-Yo. She was placed into a turbulent atmosphere as soon as she was born in August 1971. She did, however, start to notice the developing hip-hop movement in the neighborhood. When she was 18 years old, Ice Cube began to notice her distinct flow and simple storytelling. In order to sign Yo-Yo, Atlantic Records had to wait until she had graduated from high school.
Yo-Yo’s sound had a narrative context that emphasized women’s empowerment. She made her debut in 1990 as a guest on Ice Cube’s debut album, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, where she contributed a verse to the song “It’s a Man’s World.” On “You Can’t Play with My Yo-Yo” from 1991, Cube would return the favor. The song’s narrative draws the listener into Yo-Yo’s plans for empowering women in the predominantly male West Coast rap scene. As Ice Cube and Yo-Yo rap over a slowed-down version of Earth Wind & Fire’s “Devotion,” the Compton classic sees Yo-Yo justly build herself up. “The song is powerful to me because it’s everything that I am,” she told ABC News. “It has a lot of adult femininity in it.”
Black Pearl Solidified Yo-Yo’s Notoriety
NEW YORK, NEW YORK–FEBRUARY 23: Rapper Yo-Yo (aka Yolanda Whitaker) appears in a portrait taken on February 23, 1992 at a Billboard Magazine Grammy Party in New York City. (Photo by Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Yo-Yo’s debut album, Make Way for the Motherlode, was released in 1991. However, it would take her time to grow into the mother of West Coast rap she’s associated with today. “At first, it was just like, ‘Wow. Mama, I made it,’” she told HipHopDX. “I’m not asking, ‘Can I buy a car?’ I’m buying a car. ‘I don’t have to put up with your stuff, I’m moving out.’ But after a while, I would say certain stuff in interviews and didn’t know what I was saying, you know? I was so fake. I was trying to be something that I wasn’t instead of just allowing it to take.” However, her sophomore effort Black Pearl expressed significant artistic and personal growth.
Black Pearl solidified her influence in the hip-hop industry. At the time, gangsta rap was inherently focused on the violence and Black plight surrounding impoverished communities. Ice Cube, Tupac, and Dr. Dre were all impactfully raging at the world around them. With Black Pearl, listeners resonated with her steadfast focus on uplifting themes, a stark contrast to the negativity that hip-hop heads had become accustomed to. Grounded in hard raps and thudding beats, many regard it as her best project. However, she would release other successful albums such as You Better Ask Somebody, Total Control, and Ebony.
She Was In A Relationship With Tupac
Speaking of Tupac, the two would meet in a recording studio in the 1990s. Continuing to bump into each other while on tour, their relationship would become romantic for a time. Yo-Yo told EURWeb Spotlight, “We were in love and we loved each other until the day he died. Pac became like a brother to me. We were just two people on the road who found each other, fell in love with each other. We spent many nights on the road together. He wasn’t perfect, nor was he trying to be. He wasn’t afraid to talk about his community, about his parents, stuff that people don’t what to hear about, stuff people don’t want to talk about. People don’t want to talk about their truth. That kind of love he had for truth made me love him more.”
Yo-Yo’s Influence On Women’s Empowerment Is Beyond Music
By 1995, she had begun visualizing a life outside of the scope of hip-hop. Her musical career would take a backseat in favor of her acting career. No longer solely a rapper, Yo-Yo made appearances in the film Panther (1995), the television show New York Undercover (1994), and a recurring role on Martin (1992). In addition, she went back to school to obtain an associate degree in business at Bergen Community College. Reflecting on the experience, she told AARP, “I did not have the skills of business even though I had been in this music business for so long. Going back to school gave me confidence and that was my first step to do something for me.”
In “You Can’t Play with My Yo-Yo,” she references the Intelligent Black Woman’s Coalition. The mastermind behind the IBWC’s core purpose revolves around standing up for Black woman’s rights and advocating for an end to gun violence. Her influence lies beyond hip-hop verses, advocating for creative rights. In 1994, she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about whether the government should require rating labels on gangsta rap. Additionally, she’s enhanced her love for teaching by founding the Yo-Yo School of Hip-Hop. In essence, Yo-Yo is one of the pioneering influences of West Coast hip-hop and feminine empowerment.
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