Nicholas Christian Giacomini (born August 26, 1979), better known by his stage name MC Yogi, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

. His music style characteristically contains themes promoting

Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (20 ...

and many of his songs are

bhajans Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

Personal life

MC Yogi was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on August 26, 1979, and grew up in

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. He started rapping when he was 13 and started practicing yoga when he was 17 while living in a group home for at-risk youth. He became attracted to yoga after his father started practicing it. His first teacher was

Larry Schultz Larry Schultz (November 14, 1950 – February 27, 2011) was an American yoga teacher who was a long-time student of the founder of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, K. Pattabhi Jois. Schultz is primarily recognized as the creator of Rocket Yoga, a style der ...

. He is married to Amanda Giacomini and the pair divide their time between teaching at their

Point Reyes Point Reyes (, meaning "Point of the Kings") is a prominent cape and popular Northern California tourist destination on the Pacific coast. Located in Marin County, it is approximately west-northwest of San Francisco. The term is often applied ...

yoga studio, Point Reyes Yoga, and traveling for music performance.

Reviews

Yoga Journal ''Yoga Journal'' is a website and digital journal, formerly a print magazine, on yoga as exercise founded in California in 1975 with the goal of combining the essence of traditional yoga with scientific understanding. It has produced live events ...

'' reviewed MC Yogi's work as "surprisingly educational" because "he makes rapping about Hindu deities little learning opportunities". The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' said that MC Yogi may embody the ethos of the

Wanderlust Festival The Wanderlust Festival is a yoga summer festival first held in Squaw Valley in July 2009. The event, announced in May 2009, featured a musical lineup featuring Michael Franti, Spoon, Broken Social Scene, and Girl Talk, and featured a yogi line ...

more than any other performer.

In society

In 2008 MC Yogi produced a video called "Obama '08 - Vote for Hope" promoting the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, and the video went viral on YouTube. In 2009 Starbucks promoted an MC Yogi song as part of a campaign called "Are You In?" The purpose of the campaign is to promote community service and volunteering. In 2012, MC Yogi produced a video in celebration of

Gandhi Jayanti Gandhi Jayanti is an event celebrated in India to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. It is celebrated annually on 2 October, and is one of the three national holidays of India. The UN General Assembly announced on 15 June 2007 that it adop ...

(October 2, the birth of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

). The video is called, " Be the Change (The Story of Mahatma Gandhi)."

Books

''Spiritual Graffiti, Finding My True Path'' 2017 Harper One .

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Elephant Power'' (2008) * ''Elephant Powered Omstrumentals'' (2010) * ''Elephant Powered Remixes'' (2010) * ''Pilgrimage'' (2012) * ''Mantras, Beats & Meditations'' (2014) * ''Only Love is Real'' (2015) * ''Ritual Mystical'' featuring

East Forest East Forest is an American ambient/ electronic/contemporary classical/indie pop artist from Portland, Oregon, United States. The project was created by Trevor Oswalt who derived "East Forest" from the German translation of his last name (technica ...

(2016)

References

External links

*
California Birth Index
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yogi, MC 1979 births Living people American rappers West Coast hip hop musicians