Press
MC Yogi in the New York Times!
MC Yogi’s over-the-top performance at the Wanderlust Festival in Lake Tahoe, CA, captures the attention of the New York Times
“Perhaps no performer embodied the Wanderlust ethos more than MC Yogi, a San Franciscan who practiced yoga in Adidas shell toes, which didn’t stop him from putting his leg over his shoulder. He beatboxed over the om chant, & with the help of some stilt-walkers, led a parade from an arm-balancing class on Sunday to the stage underneath the gondolas, where he did a yogacentric hip-hop show.
“Say namaste!” he shouted into the mike. “How many of you think Ganesh is fresh?” Lined up on their yoga mats, the members of his audience threw their hands in the air. “We’re going to go old school — 4,000 years back,” MC Yogi promised, with intention. “Y’all ready to shake your asana?”
“Starbucks this week launched a national ad campaign that uses lyrics and music from California rapper MC Yogi. MC Yogi last year released a viral video entitled “Obama ’08 – Vote for Hope” which has garnered 350,115 views on YouTube as of press time. The new spot is entitled “Are You In?” and is from New York agency BBDO, part of the Omnicom holding company. It employs animation and asks viewers to volunteer to be part of President Barack Obama’s call for national service.”
“The big surprise of the “ecstatic chant” evening was MC Yogi, my new favorite, hilariously fun kirtan-ist–think Beastie Boys meets Krishna Das…I know all those Buddha Bar albums and plenty of people from Madonna to Sting have merged pop and yoga, but MC Yogi (a.k.a. the adorable Nicholas Giacomini) is the first that I’ve seen merge kirtan and hip hop. And he’s got quite the posse as backup: Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, and Bhagavan Das. And last night Sharon Gannon chanted along with him. . .Even though this kid is from California, this new album feels like the ultimate fusion of yoga and NYC. It’s also surprisingly educational–he makes rapping about Hindu deities little learning opportunities as well something to awaken your inner Fly Girl.”
“M.C. Yogi was an inspired choice as the soundtrack for this spot. The young yoga master/hip hop artist is best known for his campaign anthem “Vote for Hope” which sampled then-candidate Barack Obama’s riveting speech at the 2004 Democratic convention.But his route to Starbucks fame came via a more circuitous route. BBDO creative director David Carter happened to be at a yoga class in upstate New York when the yoga teacher played an M.C. Yogi song. He was instantly intrigued, he told me over a latte in a midtown Starbucks (of course) near the company’s Manhattan headquarters. The company’s creatives tracked down Yogi and asked him to compose a song specifically for this spot.Oprah will debut the spot today on her show.”
“MC Yogi is a phenomenon. The next big thing in sacred chant, he’s a rap artist with profound social awareness.”
“Last Tuesday, Yoga instructor/hip hopper/vocal Obama proponent MC Yogi (aka Nicholas Giocomini) brought his singular brand of Indian mythology-infused rap to the Jivamukti Yoga School in New York City for the CD release party of his first album, Elephant Power. The goal of Yogi’s composition is to bridge yoga and hip hop, and as dubious or downright incomprehensible as that aim may be, the MC delivers what’s likely the closest thing conceivable. And the release party was pretty ideal for the project: rooted in yoga-related themes, it was exuberant, vibrant, a little goofy, and generally unclassifiable—just like the album. . . Judging by the rapt participants—the smiling, vociferous crowd—the consensus seemed to be that Yogi’s music channeled the positivity of yoga into a celebratory musical expression. And the CD just might make an interesting gift to the yoga fiend in your life.”
“MC Yogi’s Elephant Power appears this summer with mesmerizing hip-hop electronica, takes on chants like “Ganesh is Fresh” and “Krishna Love” (both featuring Jai Uttal), as well as the hottest “Om Namah Shivaya” you could imagine.
“After blowing away crowds at the Yoga Journal Conference, Cheb I Sabbah’s CD release party and Julia Butterfly Hills benefit, he’s back by popular demand, and bustin’ out a few new tracks from his upcoming album: Think Beastie Boys meets Ravi Shankar!”
⎯ Tribe
“We’ve now seen a number of hip-hop artists pair Western themes with Indian grooves. Yogi’s project flips that around: it’s classical yogic wisdom proffered over mostly Californian breaks. To the emcee’s credit, the result is thoughtful rather than dogmatic. And it’s genuinely catchy, too.”
⎯Cnet
“MC Yogi is creating a new kind of positive hip-hop.”
⎯mog
“Yoga instructor/studio owner/rapper/former graffiti artist Nicholas Giacomini is the visionary force behind “yoga hip hop.” Bringing together his twin loves for Indian music and mythology and infectious hip hop beats, MC Yogi creates an exciting new sound for a new generation of modern mystics, urban yogis, and conscious hip hoppers.
“One of the brightest lights coming out of the North Bay music scene this year is local product Nick Giacomini, a.k.a. MC Yogi. His debut CD Elephant Power, produced by Giacomini his childhood friend Robin Livingston and Asian underground pioneer Sean Dinsmore, is receiving rave reviews
“Elephant Power” has crashed through sound barriers in the meditative yoga world like a hip-hop pachyderm!”
