Yo-Yo (rapper)

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." 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. 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 was well received by critics,[3] partly because of its focus on positive messages and uplifting themes that heavily contrasted with the popular gangsta rap style at the time.[3] 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.[3]

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

Yo-Yo's next album, Total Control, was released in 1996. 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.[4] Later that year, she performed with MC Lyte, The Lady of Rage, and Salt-N-Pepa at the BET Hip Hop Awards.

As of 2009, Yo-Yo has been working on an EP, titled My Journey to Fearless: The Black Butterfly.[5]

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.[6] Other rappers confirmed to appear are MC Lyte, Lady of Rage, Monie Love, Lil Mama, and Smooth.[7]

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 in the music video for Missy Elliot's "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)". She also appeared in the video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, as the voice of Kendl Johnson.[8]

Yo-Yo has been active in advocating for hip-hop artists to become involved within their community. Notably, Yo-Yo testified in 1994 for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about whether the government should require rating labels on gangsta rap.[9] She also founded the Yo-Yo School of Hip-Hop to use hip-hop in curriculum for at-risk students.[10]

Yo-Yo dated 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 17th,[13] 2013 in the Cayman Islands.[14] They divorced a couple years later in 2018.[15]

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