Yolanda Whitaker

August 4, 1971

Yo-Yo

She is an American rapper and actress. 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.

Yo-Yo became engaged to DeAndre Windom, the former mayor of Highland Park, Michigan, in August 2012. The two married on August 17, 2013, in the Cayman Islands and divorced in 2018.

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. She also founded the Yo-Yo School of Hip-Hop to use hip-hop in the curriculum for at-risk students.