Yo-Yo (rapper)
Yo-Yo (born
Yolanda Whitaker August 4,
1971) is an American hardcore rapper known primarily among
hip hop fans and music critics. Her albums were never explicitly
feminist, though she earned praise from some quarters for her advocacy of female empowerment, especially
sexually. Her critically acclaimed debut was
1991's
Make Way for the Motherlode (see
1991 in music) and was followed up by the equally acclaimed
Black Pearl (
1992,
1992 in music). After that, just as
West Coast hip hop artists like
Death Row Records labelmates
Dr. Dre and
Snoop Doggy Dogg began topping the charts, Yo-Yo's albums became less and less successful, especially after Death Row began disintegrating in the middle of the decade.