Rapper Yo-Yo and the Million Marijuana March

Rapper Yo-Yo being interviewed by one of the leading advocates for marijuana.


Rapper Yo-Yo signs autographs as the event unfolds.


Yo-Yo and a cast of marijuana advocates poses for the camera.


Anambra State-Nigeria-born Chi Chi performing one of her favorite tunes "Chukwu Nyere Anyi Aka" to wrap up the event.


An advocate wearing the Home Grown T-shirt and a performer on stage.


Kelly Love Jones holds her baby while entertaining the crowd as the cameraman takes his shots aground the stage.


Los Angeles, CA -- Saturday, May 08, 2010: It wasn't like the 2010 Playboy Jazz Festival Community Event Series I had attended a week earlier at the Beverly Hills Civic Center Plaza, on Rexford Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard, which featured the Grammy-award winning pianist Ben Cunliffe and his Septet, or the swinging big band vibes of Johnny Crawford and his Orchestra, courtesy of Resonance Records.

It was the "Million Marijuana March" held on the grounds of the historical Leimert Park with an amazing crowd. Female rapper and hip-hop artist, Yo-Yo was around. Born Yolanda Whittaker, who back in the early 1990s exploded in Ice Cube's single "Amerikkka's Most Wanted" and a year later with her own debut album "Make Way For The Motherlobe" and the smash hit single "you Can't Play With My Yo-Yo?" featuring Cube, was obviously the center of attraction in an event of its own kind.

Chants of legalizing marijuana was in the air as in Peter Tosh' "Legalize It":

Legalize it; don't criticize it
legalize it, yeah, yeah
and I will advertize it

Some call it tampee
some call the weed
some call it marijuana
some of them call it ganja

it's good for the flu
it's good for asthma
it's good for tuberculosis
even umara composis;

And the music, too, was loud with a legendary Bob Marley's vibe:

One love! One heart
Let's get together and feel alright
Hear the children crying' (one love)
Hear the children crying' (one heart)
Saying give thanks and praise to the Lord
And I will feel alright
Saying let's get together and feel alright
Wo wo-wo wo-wo

Let them all pass their dirty remarks (One love)
There is one question I'd really love to ask (One Heart)
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner
Who hurt mankind just to save his own beliefs
One love! what about one heart? (one heart)
What about - ? let's get together and feel alright
As it was in the beginning (one love)
So shall it be in the end (one heart)...

Nevertheless, what mattered was the stuff that Rapper Yo-Yo does -- giving back to the community where she was raised with her youth foundation, "Let Your Light Shine Youth Foundation" along with Lana Moore. And my credo on that, is, by her foundation mentoring, educating and engaging in all kinds of social programs by way of providing positive influences to the youths of today.

Yo-Yo has worked alongside producers and artists in the likes of Missy Elliot, Keri Hilson, DJ Quik, Ceelo, DJ Toomp, Eric Sermon, The Lab Rats, Raheem Davon, among others. Also, her acting career sprang from the 1991 film "Boyz N The Hood" to "Menace II Society," etc.

So you go girl! It was all good!