Mystikal, a New Orleans rapper convicted almost two decades ago of sexual battery and recently cleared of a second allegation of rape and kidnapping, acknowledges his past puts him in a “horrible fraternity.”
But he says he wants to move on from the sexually charged songs of his past and is ready to rebrand himself and his career.
“When I look back and listen to the music, man — I was a nasty lil’ rapper!” he said with a hint of embarrassment in an interview with The Associated Press. “A lot of my music now, I imagine myself rapping it to God, and if I can rap it, I’m proud.”
“When I look back and listen to the music, man — I was a nasty lil' rapper! A lot of my music now, I imagine myself rapping it to God, and if I can rap it, I'm proud."
The rhymer, whose real name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, is known for a slew of megahits in the 1990s and early 2000s such as “Here I Go,” “Shake Ya A(asterisk)(asterisk),” and “Danger.”
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
He spoke to the AP in one of his first interviews after first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping charges stemming from a 2016 allegation were dismissed in December.
He pleaded guilty in 2003 to sexual battery and served six years in prison after initially denying involvement with another woman, and more recently spent 18 months in jail before being released on a $3 million bond in a separate rape case.
Louisiana’s Caddo Parish district attorney closed the investigation after new evidence was presented to a second grand jury that declined to bring an indictment. The district attorney then filed to dismiss the charges.
The long ordeal “was like a reoccurring bad dream,” he said. “I didn’t know how it was going to work out.”
Now he wants to make changes to his career — and life — as he tries to find harmony beyond a troubled past. Though Mystikal says he “can’t go to God” with popular dirty verses, don’t expect him to start appearing on the gospel charts.
Within days of the case’s dismissal, a blitz of film trailers for Eddie Murphy’s highly anticipated “Coming 2 America” began airing, featuring “Feel Right,” Mystikal’s 2015 smash with Mark Ronson. The New Orleans product said he had no idea the song would be used, but he doesn’t believe in coincidences.
“It felt like God was winking his eye at me,” he said, smiling. “That’s what strengthens my spirituality right now, things like that.”
Mystikal maintained his innocence, but few sought his work. But bookings for live performances are picking back up, and his life story will be featured on the upcoming season of TV One’s popular music docuseries “Unsung.”
Rape charge dismissed
Mystikal’s most recent trouble began in October 2016 after his performance at a “Legends of Southern Hip-Hop” concert in Shreveport, Louisiana. According to police records obtained by the AP, Mystikal and a few members of his entourage, including hopeful rapper Averweone “Lil Hood” Holman, partied with Holman’s female friend and her boyfriend.
The victim, who told police they continuously gave her drinks, became separated from her boyfriend for a few hours, court records said. When they reconnected, the boyfriend said she seemed disoriented.
Holman told investigators that he and the victim were both intoxicated when they went to bed together. He said they were the only ones in the room.
Police noted that while the victim said she didn’t remember certain parts of the night, she recalled waking up on a bed unclothed and that Holman’s private parts were exposed. She also had another memory of bodily pain and said Mystikal was standing behind her at one point, according to the police report.
But Mystikal told police he wasn’t in the room and he “did not hear anything.” But a DNA forensic test showed the rapper had an intimate physical encounter with the victim.
Mystikal hesitantly admitted to the AP that a sexual encounter happened. He described it as consensual, believing the victim stated she was raped rather than admit the indiscretion to her boyfriend.
“There was additional information that surfaced that the original grand jury did not have an opportunity to consider at the time that the charges were brought forward,” said Britney Green, who oversaw the case for the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office. “We then decided that the case needed to stop there because the (second) grand jury did not return an indictment after the review of the additional evidence.”
The woman or a representative for her could not be reached for an interview.
The AP was unable to obtain the secret grand jury documents that were the basis for the dismissal as they remain sealed. Prosecutors do not plan to recharge Mystikal and will not charge the victim, believing she had no improper motives.
“We never want to be a part of any process that has an innocent person tied up in the criminal justice process,” said Green. “I just want to say that there is a distinction between not guilty and innocent, and that also because the case is dismissed or a case is resolved in a fashion other than at trial, that it doesn’t necessarily mean that an incident did not happen.”
Holman pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of simple kidnapping in June 2019 and was sentenced to time served, court records show.
Early rap career
Mystikal burst onto the music scene in the mid-1990s with the regional smash “Here I Go.” A hip-hop hybrid with the tongue-twisting speed of Twista combined with Busta Rhymes-like theatrics, Mystikal crafted crossover hits including “Danger (Been So Long)” and the Neptunes-produced “Shake Ya A(asterisk)(asterisk)” featuring Pharrell Williams, earning him a 2001 Grammy nomination. (The radio version is titled “Shake It Fast.”)
Some have compared his raspy vocal range to the legendary James Brown.
In 2002, he was charged with aggravated rape and extortion after his then-hairstylist said he forced her to perform sex acts on him and two bodyguards in retaliation for allegedly cashing $80,000 worth of unauthorized checks from his account.
“At this point in age, I'm just grateful to still be able to participate. At my concerts, man, I still (have a) packed house after all this time. It's amazing."
The acts were filmed, and the video sealed his fate. Hoping to dodge the potential life sentence a rape charge can carry in Louisiana, Mystikal pleaded guilty in 2003 to sexual battery and served six years in prison.
He said his faith sustained him during his 18 months behind bars in the most recent case. Mystikal, 50, understands the public may not be as forgiving.
“I can’t do nothing about that, but I try to understand where they’re coming from,” he said of critics. “At this point in age, I’m just grateful to still be able to participate. At my concerts, man, I still (have a) packed house after all this time. It’s amazing.”
Credit: Bennett Raglin
Credit: Bennett Raglin
He has received suggestions to have women he’s involved with sign non-disclosure agreements, but says he’d rather mature in his decision-making.
He said he’s committed to not put himself “in situations where things like this can happen. I’m too old for that.” He also said he no longer hangs out with groupies or indulges in the rock-star lifestyle. “I don’t perform at the show and get the ladies (excited) and get her all goo-goo eyed and take advantage (of being a celebrity) ... That was a young Mystikal.”
ArLuther Lee of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to the report.
