I spent last night boogying at Omega Institute to a long list of A-list chanters--Deva Premal & Miten, Wah, KD, et al. The big surprise of the "ecstatic chant" evening was MC Yogi, my new favorite, hilariously fun kirtan-ist--think Beastie Boys meets Krishna Das. And lucky you, he's having a CD release party at Jivamukti in a couple of weeks where you can hear some tracks.

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.

Sample lyrics: "Ganesh makes everything possible because elephant power's unstoppable... He writes the pages from the sages chants, dropping Vedic science so we can comprehend all the many ways that we can to transcend, singing jai to Ganesh who's a yogi's best friend... If you think Ganesh is super fresh when I say jai, you say Ganesh!"

Even though this kid is from California, this short 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.

Listen to samples here: mcyogi.com

Or check him out live at Jiva on September 16 with Krishna Das. Tickets are $25--call to register: (212) 353-0214. More info: mcyogi.com/tour.

Do you have other yogic hip-hop tips?