YoYo on New Music, Paying It Forward and Joining "Love & Hip Hop Hollywood"

As we wind down 2019 and near the end of one dope decade, we have to say it's been a wonderful year of growth and getting to know some amazing talent in our interview series. Our latest interview just so happens to be with West Coast legend and Hip Hop originator - YoYo!

Born Yolanda Witaker, YoYo is a rapper, actress, educator, philanthropist and one of the newest members of Love & Hip Hop Hollywood, where she is affectionately known as Auntie YoYo. A South Central native, YoYo's big break came when she appeared on Ice Cube's 1990 debut, “AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted,” duetting on "It's A Man's World," representing her gender in admirable style.

Her songs “You Can’t Play With My YoYo,” "Bonnie & Clyde Theme” with Ice Cube and her feature on Brandy’s “I Wanna Be Down” remix with MC Lyte and Queen Latifah are classics. As an actress, she has appeared in the Academy Awards-nominated film “Boyz N the Hood” as well as a number of television shows including ‘90s sitcom Martin where she portrayed the memorable, comical recurring character Keylolo.

She also served as a co-host of VH1’s Miss Rap Supreme. In 2013, she founded the YoYo School of Hip Hop music academy where she teaches youth about arts and academics. With a commitment to educating our youth, YoYo is an Ambassador for the Black College Expo. The expo is an event that highlights over 50 of the 104 historically black colleges and universities. For more than seven years, YoYo’s “How to Get A’s in English Through Hip Hop” seminar has been a main feature during the expo.

YoYo also makes her mark on the airwaves as co-host of Café Mocha, the #1 nationally syndicated radio show for women of color, alongside Emmy award winner Loni Love and broadcast veteran Angelique Perrin. The Gracie award-winning show is heard in over 35 markets across the United States and on SiriusXM Channel 141.

She will be releasing “Out of Control,” her first new song in more than 10 years. The track features Love & Hip Hop Hollywood castmate Brittany B, who is also an A&R for Warner Bros., Tyeler Reign, season 5 winner of Jermaine Dupri’s “Rap Game” series, as well as Patient Picasso. Aside from being an all-around dope artist and individual, YoYo is a proud new grandmother and mother of two beautiful, intelligent daughters.

Catch up with the Hip Hop legend below and stay tuned for the release of "Out Of Control". It goes!

You’ve been a strong and active voice in the Hip Hop community for a long time, no introduction is needed. But for those unfamiliar with YoYo, describe your come up and growing up in South Central back in the day.

Well, I'm the West coast Diva, hoes follow the leader, catch me on a Billboard, moves like a Heatseeker…nah I’m kidding (haha). For starters I started out in the early 90s during my time at Washington Prep High School where I was discovered by Ice Cube, done everything from Television to movies to you name it, I'm kinda like the voice of the people, I’m a West Coast native, I am from every part of California you can think of, and I'm celebrating 30 years in the game!

How was it going to Washington Prep High school? I’m familiar with their Band and it’s really good.

I was a part of the Drill Team while attending there. We had our own style, I was glad to be a part of the Prep. I did a bunch of stuff there like playing Volleyball, oh goodness Proficiency and English programs, I did everything there.

When did you know Hip Hop was your thing?

I couldn't say Hip Hop was my thing until I got signed. I just thought I was an Entertainer. I loved doing what I was doing. I just loved performing, you know, whatever it was, if it was playing volleyball in front of a crowd of people, I loved to do it. So, it wasn't really my thing, but I just realized that “Wow, this is what's going to take me over…Hip Hop!” because when I got the deal, it was just no looking back. It has taken me as far as it has taken me right now.

How’d you get your deal?

Ice Cube helped me with that. He took me to meet Ms. Sylvia Rhone. It’s been 30 years.

You’ve been in movies and TV over the years, were you always interested in acting?

You know, I really wasn’t to be totally honest. I really didn't really understand Entertainment coming up. I mean nothing about it. When I went to the Boyz N the Hood set, John Singleton asked me, “Do you know how to act?” I said “Yes!”(laughs). He followed up with, “Well do you know how to talk like a Mother? Cause I got a role I can put you in if you can talk to a baby as a Mother”, and I said “Of course!”. He was like, “Okay”, and I started talking to the baby like, “(kiss kiss) Come here baby (kiss kiss)”, and he was like, “Yo-Yo a baby, not a dog”. He put me in the role with Regina King shortly after.

How did your role in Martin come about?

So, the role from Martin was Ice Cube had Martin Lawrence do a segue on my album (“Letter To The Pen” off the 1993 album, “You Better Ask Somebody”), an interlude. When Martin was in there doing the interlude, he said, “I have this, part for you and I think you'd be perfect for it. I'm creating a character called Sheneneh and her best friend we can call her Keylolo…” and I was like that would be so dope! We talked about it and he finished his evening there at the studio.

Next thing I know, I got a call from Warner Brothers and television. They invited me to read for a role. So I'm thinking like “Okay, it's an audition”, But they brought me in and said, “No, you have the role. The role is yours! I was like, “Really?” So, of course I didn't watch myself for a long time because I'm like, “How did I do?” You know what I mean? But it was perfect. People loved me for it. They love Keylolo. I thought I was being stupid, just way too stupid. But people loved it and people love it to this day. It threw me off for a minute, but I love it now. And now so many kids and their parents go, “You know who she is?”, and they say “That's Keylolo!”, and I'm looking like, “Oh my God, is that how you know me?”

Speaking of Ice Cube, he's a dope actor too. Why do you feel musicians are good at acting as well?

Because entertainment is entertainment, and so I think once you tap into that zone of understanding the character that you're playing and you can ride it all the way out without being sidetracked or losing your focus on the role. I think you're able to zone in a little bit more because artists are artists all the way around.

I say that all the time, whether it's painting, if you zone into painting, become the best painter. If designing is your thing or even journalism, that's an artistry, you know? If you zone into it and you start reading your writing in a character and never zone out, then you know you can be good at it too. Once we realize what it is we are actually doing, I think when you're young and you start out, you don't really know what you're doing, you’re just like a fish out of water.

So, you're very active in the community as a role model, and you give back through your Yo-Yo School of Hip Hop, and now an Ambassador for the Black College Expo. Why do you feel this important to give back?

To be honest, I never knew how important it was, but I've realized that the more I give, the more I get. So it's really like a “You get what you give”. So, I'm being blessed twice. I give and it's a blessing, but I give so much more, and that's a blessing. I give, because I love to give, but I also love to get, you know.

It's such a blessing because it comes back to me tenfold. Turning in someone's phone I found for example, I know mine is coming back if I ever lose it. So my love for giving has opened up so many doors for me that I never knew would open for me. So it's almost like I love doing that more than I love doing anything else because that, actually keeps me alive. All of that comes to me and all of the new journeys that I have, it's almost like a reward for my time.

You just joined the cast of Love & Hip Hop Hollywood, how did that come about?

Oh, it's so fun. I'm waiting on my turn up. I'm like, “nobody's gonna put a drink in my face”, let's get it cracking! I love it. I love this new generation, they're more fearless coming up. I've never approached a conflict the way they approach conflict. I’m not saying it's a good thing all the time, but sometimes I just wish I could tell a person, “I don't really mess with you.” I don't have that in me. We didn't come from that kind of generation. We take the bitter with the sweet, and we move on. So, me being a part of Love & Hip Hop, it allows me to be in today's world, experiencing what really goes on, and dealing with it in my natural state. I love it.

What new flavor do you bring to the cast?

I bring my authentic self. I bring me, you know, quirky, crazy, out of the box thinking, sometimes an obnoxious personality. Sometimes people don't want to see my niceness. My niceness is sometimes camouflaged, my gangster's camouflaged. My niceness always shows up before I do. I hope I bring my generation to this TV show because you know, we've loved Hip Hop for so long, and we've been a part of it for so long. I think that a lot of people who grew up with my generation feel like, it's not about us anymore. So, I'm hoping that I bring to a generation who has loved music like I have, a sense to say it has Hip Hop in it, and I can still watch it. Don't feel like it's so young that they have to tune out. So, hopefully bring a little bit of excitement.

You have a new single coming out called “Out Of Control” with Brittany B and Tyeler Reign, what inspired you to start dropping new music again?

Performing all the time. I’m gone like four days out of the week doing shows. To be totally honest, I thought nobody's going to really support the new stuff because you have artists who have made classic music, but the new stuff isn’t always supported. But that's the difference with Hip Hop, if you come out with something good, people will probably listen and that's what I'm hoping for.

From music to movies to paying it forward, your track record is very impressive. What do you attribute to your lasting power?

God. I think the power of “Yes”as well. Mesaying “Yes” has opened up new doors for me, seeing thatmy fear was blocking them. But I think when I just surrendered to God andstarted saying yes to more, I think that opened up my door to more because Iwas trying to judge every situation like everything else. The more I startedsaying yes and let God do the judging, it seemed like it was better for me. So Iattribute my lasting power to my relationship with God, my truth with myself,be forgiving myself, and me not being afraid to push because people werethrowing stones in my way. The power of “Yes”.

Is there anything else we should know before you go?

I like to see that a lot of people are getting introduced to me. I'm happy to reintroduce myself to a lot of people because my name has a new meaning and I'm so grateful for that. You know, 30 years in an industry that I knew nothing about when I started has done wonders for me. I'm so excited to share my experience with this new generation. I'm a roller coaster, my name is not Yo-Yo for nothing. Some days I love, some days I'm down, but I'm glad that I get to introduce myself to a new generation that needs an Auntie, or a big sister, or some solid love, or some in your face kind of action. So thank you, thank you for interviewing me and let me reintroduce myself.