sounds MC Yogi on stage with acro-yogis at the Wanderlust Festival in Squaw Valley, CA, 2009.
Rock on Hanuman!MC Yogi flips Downward Dog on BY martin tickle
photo: ana grillo www.anagrillo.com Photo:
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t was a divine conspiracy” is MC Yogi’s theory behind the numerous “aha moments” and coincidences that led him to the top of the world music charts. Divine intervention is one explanation; hard work, perseverance, and dedication are another. MC Yogi’s journey took him from yoga teacher in Point Reyes Station, CA, to iTunes chart-topping, speaker-popping world music and hip-hop artist in a few short years. As the story goes, the persona MC Yogi, and the music that inspired the debut album Elephant Power were the creative sum totals of a series of life-changing moments. While he was still Nicholas Giacomini, the 18-year-old was riveted by a meditation intensive given by a teacher from India. A graffiti artist, Giacomini was drawn to the style and colors of India’s urban and spiritual life. As a kid raised on old-school hip-hop storytellers like Slick Rick, he was equally captivated by Hinduism’s deities and their colorful tales. “Yoga is about freedom from entanglements; that’s why I call myself an “un-rapper,” says the man who translates the wisdom of yoga with the language of hip
its tail and gives the yoga world a dose of elephant power.
hop. And in spite of the Hindu iconography in his repertoire, Yogi explains: “I was raised Christian, but I relate to Krishna Das when he says, ‘I’m an un-do, not a Hindu.’” Yogi’s wedding celebration, at the Yoga Toes studio he runs with his wife, provided one of many aha moments. “The DJ was playing “Brass Monkey” by the Beastie Boys and a friend of mine picked up a statue of Hanuman, the Hindu monkey deity, and started dancing with it,” he says. During his honeymoon, a chance meeting with Mike D. of the Beastie Boys in a yoga studio validated
powerful year for Yogi—the same year that he released Elephant Power and it began its roaring climb in the world music scene. Why “Elephant Power”? [The elephant deity] “Ganesh is invoked at the beginning of any undertaking,” says Yogi. “It’s a reminder of overcoming obstacles as we are coming into our own power. Like the Buddha, Ganesh is also an appealing, widely recognizable image to the West.” To produce Elephant Power, Yogi earned the backing of record label White Swan and raised $13,000 from his Point Reyes Station community, although not one song was yet complete. With encouragement from his wife Amanda and production support from producers Robin Livingston and Sean Dinsmore, the ideas behind Elephant Power were translated into a cohesive sound. Whether it’s the kirtan-influenced “Temple Prayer” or the playful, upbeat tune “Rock on Hanuman,” Yogi’s sound resonates with the times. He describes Elephant Power as medicine for the world, and sends his inspired message of healing and hope across the globe.
“I call myself an un-rapper” Yogi’s emerging vision. “It was an omen of the union of the two worlds,” he says. Through Yoga Toes studio Yogi hosted and befriended kirtan singer Jai Uttal and met kirtan luminaries Krishna Das and Bhagavan Das. “Krishna Das came to my house after his performance one night, and I started freestyling over some classic hip-hop instrumentals,” says Yogi, describing another formative experience. In the meantime, Bhagavan Das predicted in a reading that 2008 would be a
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