By Delise Chew
Special to the AFRO
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Yo-Yo, a female pioneer in hip hop, will release her newest project
Journey to Fearless: The Black Butterfly.
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(March 4, 2009) - Beautiful, strong, intelligent and fearless are just a few words that would describe rapper/actress Yolanda “Yo-Yo” Whitaker. Since her debut album, Make Way for the Mother lode, was released in 1991 and her countless appearances and roles in film and television, Yo-Yo has been unstoppable.
Who can forget her No.1 chart-topping single “You Can’t Play With My Yo-Yo?” She recently co-hosted the hit VH1 reality show “Miss Rap Supreme.”
A pioneer in the hip-hop industry, Yo-Yo was one of the first female rappers from the West Coast. With edgy lyrics and innovative hooks, the rapper said she’s always put women’s empowerment first.
In 2005, along with fellow legendary rap artist Mc Lyte, Yo-Yo created the Let Your Light Shine Youth Foundation. Their mission is to act as big sisters to young women through mentoring, education and providing positive influences.
In addition to her charitable work, the rapper returns with her highly anticipated EP, My Journey to Fearless: The Black Butterfly, this month, which is set to include collaborations with Missy Elliot and Keri Hilson among others.
In an exclusive interview, the AFRO sat down with Yo-Yo to talk about the new project, her career goals and more.
AFRO: So, your last album Total Control was released in 1996. Why such a big hiatus and why come back now?
Yo-Yo: Well I never really left the game. I have always been putting together my music and doing other things. I went back to school but I have always been performing and working in between. At the same time as hosting, I did radio and I just took time to regroup to decide if I even wanted to go back into music.
AFRO: What can fans expect from this album? Is it different from previous albums and if so, how?
Yo-Yo: I want fans to enjoy it because there are not many women out there. This is hip hop from a woman’s point of view, and of course it’s different every time. It just gets better with time.
AFRO: How did you come about collaborating with Missy Elliot and how was it working with her? Any other big collaborations on the album?
Yo-Yo: I have worked with Missy on a previous song. We are supposed to be getting together on the single we’re pushing and promoting now but it hasn’t occurred yet, so we just went ahead and started pushing the single and hopefully I am going to grab her on the remix. We are still working on collabs, but we have Ray-J, some big producers, DJ Quik and Cee-lo. We are halfway through the EP and once we’re finished we will know exactly who we will be picking for the album. Oh, I am also heading to D.C. in a couple of days to work with Raheem DeVaughn. These are all artists that I love.
AFRO: What was the concept behind the title of the new album?
Yo-Yo: Just my journey, just my trials and tribulations, my testimony, my journey back to fearless, a chance to come back out independent, doing it my way. It is everything we talk about, falling down and getting back up, never giving up, just standing strong on a path I helped create.
AFRO: How do you feel about the state of hip hop now, and what are your feelings about today’s female hip-hop artists or the lack thereof?
Yo-Yo: I wish there were more [female artists]…The state of hip hop…It is what it is. It just moves in cycles, we are just in one of these funk cycles. I always like to say hip hop has grown up. You’re dealing with a crowd like when we were younger doing music, but right now the world needs some help. So, of course hip hop does.
AFRO: Being a female pioneer in the hip-hop industry, do you feel like it is deteriorating or moving too far away from its original roots?
Yo-Yo: No, I think hip hop is expanding. I mean, where I came from, I remember being asked if hip hop was here to stay. Honey, I can for sure now tell you yes. Whether we like it or not, it is not going anywhere. They might as well go start putting some genres in it, you know, and have our own category. But yes, of course hip hop is here to stay, it’s just the sign of the times, how they classify music today and that’s just what it is for now and that too shall pass.
AFRO: What do you want fans to take away from the new album?
Yo-Yo: For women, be fearless. Don’t ever give up. Don’t let anyone decide your path, whether it be in love or whatever. I'm doing what I want to do whether they like it or not. I want women to enjoy it and I want men to understand that I am hip hop and I love doing music and it’s not just about bashing men. This time I just tried to speak from the heart instead of just always defending women. I just tried to do music. I am so confident now. I know who I am now. I can say what I want now and that’s the beauty of being fearless, that’s why I can say this album is fearless.
AFRO: Who came up with the concept for “Miss Rap Supreme” and how did you feel about the success of the show?
Yo-Yo: Ego-trip, the gentlemen and writers from Ego-trip. They picked me to be a part of it as a co-host, and as far as my feelings about the show, for me as a woman, I wanted it do a little more. But I was happy to be a part of it just to get my face back out there, have my face in the place and then to be working with women, something I wanted to do. It was exciting. I wish I could have done more, I really didn’t feel like I gave a lot of insight to the women.
AFRO: Will there be another season? If so, what can fans expect?
Yo-Yo: There will not be another season as far as I know of now, but there is more work for me far as television and film. Right now we are just pushing yoyofearless.com and everything else I really don’t want to speak into it until it’s here, until it’s time to promote.
AFRO: How is Rece Steele and will she be featured on the new album?
Yo-Yo: I do have plans on reaching out to Rece Steele and I know the runner- up Byata is here in California now.
For more information about Yo-Yo and her new album, visit www.yoyofearless.com.