Yo-Yo

Sir Jinx, Yo-Yo and Ice Cube

Yo-Yo and Ice Cube

Tupac Shakur and Yo-Yo

DJ Chilly Chill and Yo-Yo

Yo-Yo and Method Man

Yo-Yo in Boyz n the Hood

Yolanda Whitaker was born on August 4, 1971 in South Central Los Angles, California. The third of Denise and Kenneth Whitaker's six children, Yolanda's family grew even larger when her mother, who'd separated from her father, who'd moved to nearby Gardenia, adopted five more children. 

Whitaker developed an interest in poetry while in junior high school. While attending George Washington Preparatory High School, she formed an all-girl rap group and began participating in rap battles with other students and competing in local talent shows. She caught the attention of NWA-co-founder and newly solo rapper O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson, who invited her, using the stage name Yo-Yo, to record the collaboration "It's A Man's World", which is featured on his debut solo album, 1990's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. However, Whitaker's mother confronted Jackson over her objection to his song "A Bitch is a Bitch". 

Nevertheless, Jackson secured Whitaker a recording deal with EastWest Records. Whitaker's first offering for the label was her debut album, Make Way for the Motherlode, released on March 19, 1991. The album features Whitaker's signature song, "You Can't Play with My Yo-Yo", another collaboration with Jackson. Motherlode features production by Jackson, Derrick "Chilly Chill" Baker, Delvon "Del the Funky Homosapien" Jones and Anthony "Sir Jinx" Wheaton. That same year, Whitaker appeared alongside Jackson in the Oscar-nominated film Boyz n the Hood.

On the subsequent tour, Whitaker met and befriended Tupac Shakur, who, at the time, was working as a dancer and roadie for Oakland rap group Digital Underground. As the two got better acquainted, the friendship developed into a romantic relationship. 

Following the 1992 LA riots, Whitaker was invited by Congresswoman Maxine Waters to testify during congressional hearings on "gangsta rap" and its influence. Whitaker's second album, Black Pearl, was released on June 23, 1992. Unlike Make Way for the Motherlode, Pearl, which proved to be a commercial failure, was not overseen by Jackson. 

Whitaker's third album, You Better Ask Somebody, executive-produced by Jackson, was released on June 22, 1993. The album contains another duet between the two -- "The Bonnie and Clyde Theme". That same year, Whitaker made the first of several appearances as Keylolo on the sitcom "Martin".  She also appeared in the critically-acclaimed film Menace II Society. Her collaboration with dancehall singer Patra, "Romantic Call", the music video for which also features Shakur, was released in 1993 as well.

The first of Whitaker's two daughters, Tiffany, was born in 1994. 

After hearing the news that ex-boyfriend Tupac Shakur had been gunned down in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, Whitaker flew to Nevada and visited him briefly before he succumbed to his injuries on September 13. Whitaker's fourth album, Total Control, was released on October 29. 

Whitaker's fifth album, Ebony, scheduled to hit stores on September 29, 1998 was never released as several of the guest appearances set to be included were never cleared. However, the intended first single, "Iz it All Still Good?", featuring Gerald Levert, did manage to be released and was accompanied by a music video featuring Whitaker's new, glamorous look. 

In 2003, Whitaker gave birth to her second daughter, Sanai. Whitaker married Highland Park, Michigan mayor DeAndre Windom on August 17, 2013.

Yo-Yo feat. Ice Cube - You Can't Play with 
My Yo-Yo

Related:

Ice Cube

Kid 'n Play

by Ran

Kid (left) and Play (right)














































































































































Kid, DJ Wiz and Play

































































Shari Headley and Play












































Salt-n-Pepa, Kid 'N Play, Sweet T, Herbie Luv 
Bug and Dana Dane
















Michael Jordan, Kid, Will Smith, Jazzy Jeff and Play
















Flavor Flav, Salt-n-Pepa, Kid 'N Play, Jazzy Jeff & 
the Fresh Prince and Slick Rick

















Martin Lawrence (Bilal) and Play in House Party































Play and TLC in House Party 3

















Play, Eazy-E and Kid















Tupac Shakur, Kid and Aaron Hall

Christopher "Play" Martin was born on July 10, 1962 in the East Elmhurst section of Queens, New York to Willy and Regina Martin. His childhood neighbors were future producers Eric "Eric B." Barrier and Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor and future rapper Kwame' Holland. Willy was incarcerated for bank robbery during Christopher's youth. As a teen, Christopher became involved in petty crime, including: purse-snatching and armed robbery. 

The oldest of four children, he also developed an interest in music and taught himself to play the guitar and drums. After discovering hip hop, Martin became a break dancer and later joined local rap group The Super Lovers, which included Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor, in his late teens. 

Christopher "Kid" Reid was born on April 5, 1964 in The Bronx, New York to a Jamaican father and an Irish mother. At the age of nine, Reid, who was raised by his mother, was involved in a car accident that took the life of his mother and her female friend. He subsequently moved in with his father in Staten Island, New York. After Reid found himself routinely bullied by racist peers, his father moved the family to the predominately African-American East Elmhurst section of Queens. As a teenager, Reid became interested in hip hop music and gave himself the nickname, "Kid Culot", and became known for wearing a lab coat and wearing his hair in an afro. He eventually joined local rap group The Turnout Brothers. 

Martin and Reid met when the former noticed the latter performing at a Queens nightclub. The two shortly began performing together, calling themselves The Fresh Force Crew. After auditioning for Lenny Brown, a DJ for New York radio station WBLS, and his production partner, Rich Ahee, the duo began working as Martin and Reid's managers. Martin and Reid subsequently recorded the song "My Skeezer", a parody of Run-DMC's "My Adidas" and "Rock Me", inspired by Falco's hit "Rock Me Amadeus". 

When the two songs failed to become hits, Martin's old friend, Azor, who was by this time managing and producing rap group Salt-n-Pepa, took over management duties for the pair and named them Kid 'n Play. Shortly afterwards, Azor recruited Mark "Wiz" Eastmond to be the group's DJ.

In 1987, the group's first hit song, "Last Night", produced by Azor, was released. The follow-up, "Do This My Way", was accompanied by the pair's first music video, which featured the first appearance of the "Kid 'n Play Kick Step". The third single, "Gittin' Funky", proved to be the group's breakthrough song. 

On October 25, 1988, the duo released their debut album, 2 Hype. The group subsequently went on tour with Keith Sweat and Salt-n-Pepa. By that time, Reid had become known for his signature look, his extremely tall high-top fade. In 1989, Martin, Reid and Azor made cameos in their East Elmhurst neighbor Kwame' Holland's music video for his song "The Man We All Know and Love".  

After gaining the attention of music video director, Reginald Hudlin, Martin and Reid, alongside then-aspiring comedian Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell, were cast in his feature film debut, House Party, which premiered March 9, 1990. Upon its release, House Party became garnered critical acclaim and grossed more than 10 times what it cost to produce, making it one of the most profitable movies of the 1990s. Kid 'n Play's second album, Funhouse, was released four days after House Party's debut. 

Following the success of the movie, Martin founded a clothing label, IV Plai. The group's third album, Face the Nation, was released on September 24, 1991. House Party 2 premiered just under a month later -- October 23, 1991. 

On June 5, 1992, Martin and Reid's only non-House Party movie, Class Act, premiered.

Martin married actress Shari Headley in May of 1993. Headley gave birth to their son, Skyler Martin, in April of 1994.The couple divorced in June of 1995. Reid fathered three children between 1994-1996. During that time, Martin and Reid starred in House Party 3, released on January 12, 1994.

Following House Party 3, Reid became a stand-up comic and hosted "It's Showtime at the Apollo" and "Your Big Break". In July of 2010, he was charged with a DUI in his adopted home of Los Angeles, California. That same year, Martin starred in the indie film The Return.

LeBron James' Kid 'n Play State Farm commercial

Scene from House Party

Related:

Kwame'