Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A Grammy‑nominated rapper who rose to fame with the 2000 hit “Shake Ya Ass” has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the rape of a woman at his Louisiana home in 2022. Michael Lawrence Tyler, 55, known professionally as Mystikal, received the sentence on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, after pleading guilty in March to third‑degree rape as part of a deal with prosecutors.
The sentence, handed down by a judge in Ascension Parish, came five years less than the maximum punishment of 25 years for the crime. The original charge of first‑degree rape, which carries an automatic life sentence, was reduced through the plea agreement. The rapper had been held without bond at the Ascension Parish Jail since his arrest in July 2022.
In court on Tuesday, the victim described in graphic detail how Mystikal had punched her, choked her, pulled out her braids and forcibly raped her at his home in Prairieville, about 18 miles from Baton Rouge. She asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence. In response, the rapper told the court: “If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence.”
Days before the sentencing hearing, Mystikal filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that he “did not have sufficient opportunity to fully consider the consequences” of the deal. The motion claimed he was “under significant emotional distress and felt substantial pressure to make an immediate decision.” The court rejected the attempt and proceeded with the original plea.
The case dates back to 2022, when deputies responded to a hospital after receiving a report of a sexual assault. Investigators said the woman had visible injuries and was able to identify the suspect as Tyler. He was initially arrested on six charges, including first‑degree rape, false imprisonment and strangulation. According to court documents, the rapper took the woman’s phone and car keys, beat and choked her, and forced her to send him money via CashApp before allowing her to leave.
This is not the first time Mystikal has faced serious criminal charges. In 2004, he was convicted of sexual battery and extortion of his hairstylist, a case in which he and two bodyguards videotaped themselves in sex acts with the woman. He served six years in prison and was released in 2010. In 2016, he was charged with kidnapping and sexual assault, but that case was later dropped. He is a lifetime registered sex offender.
The rapper, who received multiple Grammy nominations in the early 2000s, had been arrested and released on previous occasions, but the 2022 case kept him behind bars for the past four years. The judge’s decision to impose a 20‑year sentence follows a pattern of leniency in earlier cases, but the survivor’s testimony and the rapper’s own admission appear to have weighed heavily in the final ruling.
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