Hip-Hop Legend Yo-Yo Talks Hosting Cooking Show on AspireTV (Exclusive)

Yo-Yo made a huge impact in the hip-hop world in the 1990s and went on to appear in notable movies in TV shows such as Menace II Society, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, The Jamie Foxx Show, Martin, and Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood. Now, the 51-year-old is making the transition to cooking show host as her new series, Downright Delicious with Yo-Yo premieres on AspireTV on June 6. PopCulture.com spoke to Yo-Yo about the show and her passion for cooking. 

“Hosting a cooking show was not something I always wanted to do,” Yo-Yo told PopCulture. “I think me cooking became a passion of mine through my depression, and transition through life. Not really a deep depression, but just trying to figure it out. I’ve been doing music since I was 17. So I think me trying to figure out what was next for me and in that process, I think my calming moments were me pulling up these recipes. I’ve always cooked. Cooking was something for me. We grew up, my mom always cooked. We never really went out to restaurants or ordered fast food. So cooking was always something for me. But I think in the moment of me trying to make the best steak I could make and search, and doing it, and showcasing it on my Instagram with something we didn’t have when we came out became a big trend.”

Downright Delicious with Yo-Yo features Yo-Yo making some of her favorite dishes, cocktails and desserts. Some of her most notable recipes featured in the show are Brioche Lobster Rolls, Salmon and Broccolini Lobster Pasta and Coconut Braised Oxtails with Red Beans and Rice.

“I’m from California and on the East Coast, they get a lot of the islanders,” Yo-Yo said when asked about the oxtails. “So you get a lot of Jamaicans, you get a lot of Trinidadians, you get a lot of everything. Here, we get a lot of Spanish, Mexicans, which is okay. So I’m very good at Mexican dishes. But I’ve taken what I’ve learned from being on the East Coast and having dishes served to me in Trinidad and Jamaica, and I’ve mastered it to where I know that everybody who walks in my door will suck them up.”

With Yo-Yo (real name Yolanda Whitaker) being a big name in the hip-hop world, one would think she would have special guests on her cooking show. And while she said there will be some notable people appearing in the series, the focus will be on Yo-Yo in the kitchen and making her favorite meals. 

“Rochelle, who’s one of the producers and one of the partners of Powerhouse Productions, she made a point to tell me all the time, because I was like, ‘Oh, I want to get my girl, Mia X out of New Orleans, and she cooks, I want to have her in there and I want to have this person.’ She said, ‘Yo-Yo, it’s not about that. The fact that you actually cook, that’s what we want the people to see,’” Yo-Yo explained. “So next season, you’ll see probably more, because everybody’s been hitting me up like, ‘Yo, what the hell? I want to be in your kitchen.’ But people love to party with me. You would love to party with me. If you ever come to LA, I’ll cook and party with you.”