Rapper Mystikal arrested again in Louisiana and faces charges of rape, robbery, battery

Grammy-nominated rapper Mystikal has been arrested again in Louisiana and charged with first-degree rape, among several other violent charges.

The "Shake Ya Ass" and "Danger (Been So Long)" rapper was arrested over the weekend after local law enforcement officials responded to an area hospital where a victim who sustained minor injuries identified the rapper as a suspect, the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office said in a media release. A mug shot of the hip-hop star was also posted on the sheriff's Facebook page.

Mystikal, 51, real name Michael Tyler, was then arrested and booked into the Ascension Parish Jail and charged with first-degree rape, simple robbery, domestic abuse battery–strangulation, false imprisonment and simple criminal damage to property. He's awaiting arraignment at the jail, NBC News reported.

Representatives for the rapper did not immediately respond Monday to The Times' request for comment.

The "Stutter" rapper was convicted almost two decades ago of sexual battery after pleading guilty to charges in 2003, hoping to lessen the potential life sentence that a rape charge can carry in Louisiana. He served six years in prison and was released in 2010.

More recently, he was cleared of 2016 allegations of rape and kidnapping. The New Orleans-born artist had been indicted in 2017 on separate rape and kidnapping charges and spent 18 months in jail before being released in 2019 on a $3 million bond, the Associated Press reported. The Caddo Parish District Attorney in Louisiana dropped the charges against him after a second grand jury declined to bring an indictment.

In a 2021 interview with AP, the rapper appeared remorseful and acknowledged that his past put him in a “horrible fraternity.”

“When I look back and listen to the music, man — I was a nasty lil’ rapper!” he said. “A lot of my music now, I imagine myself rapping it to God and if I can rap it, I’m proud.”

With his raspy vocal intensity and scream-like musical delivery, Mystikal catapulted to stardom with Master P’s No Limit Records in the late 1990s. Before that, he was an established artist with the regional smash hit "Here I Go." His self-titled debut and 1995’s “The Mind of Mystikal” crowned him a prince of Southern hip-hop, and a million fans purchased his first No Limit album, 1997’s “Unpredictable.” He followed it up with 1997's "Ghetto Fabulous," a studio album that featured Snoop Dogg, Master P and Busta Rhymes.

His "Let's Get Ready" album featured 2000's “Shake Ya Ass" (radio title "Shake It Fast"), produced by the Neptunes and with vocals by Pharrell Williams. The song earned Mystikal a 2001 Grammy nomination. He earned two more nominations for his 2001 track "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)" and that song's album, "Tarantula."

In 2004 amid his legal woes, his original label, Jive Records, released two compilations of the rapper's music, "Prince of the South ... The Hits" and "Chopped & Screwed."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.