Yo Yo

In the early 90’s, Yo Yo was one of the first respected female rap artists from the West Coast to go nationwide. Previously she was under the Ice Cube umbrella, nowadays she has stepped out from behind all the shadows to shine standing on her own two. Vibe.com’s contributor JR recently caught up with her a few weeks ago in San Francisco after she lyrically murdered the crowd opening up for the Oakland group the Delinquents and the ATL boyz the Yin Yang Twins.

Tell us about your new project?

I’m working on my new album “Fearless,” which is due out. Right now we got the “Goodies” unofficial remix, that’s blazing radio stations, so I’m real excited about that.

How’d you get into the rap game?

Oh goodness. T-Bone from The Lench Mob heard about me rapping at my high school talent show and Ice Cube was leaving NWA at the time and was looking for female artists. T-Bone told him about Yo Yo, who went to Washington High School in the area; and before I knew it, we were working on music and shipping it to New York for a deal with Atlantic.

How long was that before “Can’t Play wit’ My Yo Yo” came out?

It was very quick. We went in, got a deal, we put out “It’s a Man’s World” on Cube’s album and then “Stomping Into the 90’s/You Can’t Play Wit’ My Yoyo” followed right after in ’90-’91.

Why have you always kept it respectable for black women along with your crew the I.B.W.C. (The Intelligent Black Women’s Coalition)?

Because I’m a Black woman, and I understand our struggle. To uplift, we need more positivity. We need more sisterhood. I just think that women don’t have that support and they don’t know how to support. They want to be friends, but nobody knows how to, so I just try to represent for all of the ladies, especially intelligent ones that know how and those that want to know how.

What’s the biggest issue facing young black women today?

Promiscuity, and changing their outer to feel better on the inside, and it’s not happening. I don’t know, I think that a lot of women are becoming materialistic and superficial. Maybe that’s not the word because materialistic …hey they want what they want. Superficial is the word, they’re changing who they are, and sometimes it can be a battle.

Fa’sho. So what’s the business? Do you have an independent label now?

I do have my own company, Fearless Entertainment with Yo Yo Music, and hopefully we’ll be making some noise. But everybody has to come out and support me, because as you know independent is very hard to do alone. Its a lot of hard work. And if your people, or your fans, or dj’s, or radio stations and everybody, if they’re not behind you it’s very hard.

Who can we expect on the album, do you have any guest features?

I got my boy Petey Pablo. I got Kurupt. Oh God, I have so many cameos, but I don’t want to talk about them until they’re finalized, but Petey is a go and Kurupt is a go. It’s a nice album, real funky Hip Hop from the West Coast…bringing it back.

I just saw you dumb-spittin’, is that what’s on the album?

Yeah, the last two songs are on the album. You know I got a little bit of everything, because that’s just how I am, just made up like Gumbo, everything is in the pot. So whatever I bring out, that’s what it is. It has no label, no name, you just know that it is well seasoned. And it is what we need right now for the women that are going some where or been some where, and are reaching.

When does the new album come out?

The new album will be out [2005], I really don’t have a month set, but it’s building and you can expect to hear something from me soon. The “Goodies” remix is out right now, so they can check that out.

Do you have a website?

www.yoyomusic.net

Any last words?

Yeah. Stay fearless, to all my intelligent black women out there, and hold ya head up.

Visit Vibe Online  to hear Listen to Yo Yo’s Remix of Ciara’s “Goodies”

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