NEW ORLEANS — Rapper Mystikal, the Grammy-nominated artist who rose to prominence in the early 2000s, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a woman at his Louisiana home in 2022.
Mystikal, whose legal name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, pleaded guilty in March to third-degree rape under an agreement that capped his sentence at 20 years. The plea reduced the original first-degree rape charge, which would have carried a mandatory life sentence, to a lesser offense with a maximum penalty of 25 years.
In the days leading up to Tuesday’s sentencing, Tyler asked the court to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that he “did not have sufficient opportunity to fully consider the consequences,” according to ABC affiliate WBRZ.
Before the sentence was handed down, the victim addressed the court and urged the judge to impose the harshest penalty allowed, WBRZ reported. She said Tyler punched and choked her, ripped out her braids and forcibly raped her at his home in Prairieville, a community about 18 miles from Baton Rouge.
According to the station, Tyler responded in court by saying, “If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence.”
An attorney for the rapper did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mystikal has been held without bond at the Ascension Parish Jail since his arrest in 2022.
The Louisiana rapper rose to national recognition in the 1990s and is known for his 2000 hit “Shake Ya A(asterisk)(asterisk),” which was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap solo performance category.
In 2003, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery and was sentenced to six years in prison. That same year he 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).”
