Mystikal, whose legal name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, pleaded guilty Tuesday to third-degree rape in an Ascension Parish courtroom in Louisiana, according to court records. The plea relates to an alleged rape at his Louisiana home in Prairieville nearly four years earlier.
Records show Tyler, 55, entered the guilty plea as part of the case that began with his arrest in 2022. Court reporting on the case described Tyler as being held without bond at the Ascension Parish Jail since that arrest.
The case stems from allegations involving Tyler and a woman at his Prairieville home, about 18 miles from Baton Rouge, records indicate. Tyler’s arrest in 2022 was tied to allegations that he raped and choked a woman at his home, according to court records summarized in the Associated Press report.
Tyler was scheduled to be sentenced on June 15. The court records reported that he faces up to 25 years in jail without benefit of parole, probation, or a suspended sentence.
The Associated Press said Tyler’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The rapper is a New Orleans native who gained national recognition in the 1990s and received multiple Grammy nominations in the early 2000s, according to the Associated Press. The report said Tyler is known for his 2000 hit “Shake Ya A(asterisk)(asterisk),” which was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap solo performance category.
The Associated Press also reported that Tyler pleaded guilty in 2003 to sexual battery and was sentenced to six years in prison. That same year, the report said, Tyler was a Grammy nominee in two categories: best rap album for “Tarantula” and best male rap solo performance for his single “Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against The Wall).”