On Monday, Michael Lawrence Tyler (aka Mystikal) pled not guilty to rape and drug possession charges in Louisiana.
According to reports, authorities charged the Grammy-nominated rapper with simple criminal damage to property, false imprisonment, domestic abuse, battery, and strangulation, simple robbery, and first-degree rape.
Prosecutors claim Mystikal had heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, and Xanax as well as drug paraphernalia in his Prairieville, Louisiana home. The 51-year-old New Orleans native’s lawyer pushed back on those accusations.
“My client doesn’t even do drugs, so he has absolutely no idea what they were talking about,” Mystikal’s attorney, Joel Pearce, told the Associated Press.
This is not the first time Mystikal has been accused of sexual assault. The “Shake Ya Ass” performer was charged with first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping in a separate 2017 case in Caddo Parish. Those charges were eventually dismissed in December 2020 due to a lack of evidence.
In addition, Mystikal pled guilty to sexual battery and extortion charges in 2003. After serving a six-year prison sentence, the former No Limit Records flagbearer is required to register as a sex offender.
“People keep saying it’s his third time to be charged [with rape],” said attorney Joel Pearce. “In Caddo Parish, after a grand jury indicted him, they un-indicted him.”
Prior to his legal issues, Mystikal released the Platinum-certified albums Unpredictable in 1997 and Ghetto Fabulous in 1998. The RIAA awarded a 2x-Platinum plaque for 2000’s Let’s Get Ready studio LP. He also contributed to Master P’s classic posse cut “Make ‘Em Say Uhh!”