MC Yogi is the stage name of Nicholas Giacomini, an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 musician and yogi

Yogi

A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...

. His music style characteristically contains themes promoting Hindu philosophy

Hindu philosophy

Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...

 and many of his songs are bhajans.

Personal life

MC Yogi is married to Amanda Giacomini and the pair divide their time between teaching at their Point Reyes

Point Reyes

Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California. It is located in Marin County approximately WNW of San Francisco. The term is often applied to the Point Reyes Peninsula, the region bounded by Tomales Bay on the northeast and Bolinas Lagoon on the southeast...

 yoga studio, Yoga Toes, and traveling for music performance.

Reviews

Yoga Journal

Yoga Journal

Yoga Journal is an American based media company that publishes a magazine, a website, DVDs, and puts on conferences all devoted to yoga, food and nutrition, fitness, wellness, and fashion and beauty.-Beginnings and Growth:...

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

The New York Times said that MC Yogi may embody the ethos of the Wanderlust Festival

Wanderlust Festival

The Wanderlust Festival is a 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. Notably Michael Franti had to bow out of the show at the last moment due to...

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 Obamba, 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.