Rapper Mystikal has been arrested on charges of first-degree rape, felony domestic abuse by strangulation and other counts in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The 51-year-old, real name Michael Tyler, was arrested on Sunday night after local police had spoken with a person alleging they were a victim of a sexual assault at a nearby hospital.
Tyler, who scored a global hit in 2000 with Shake Ya Ass and was subsequently nominated for two Grammy awards, served a six-year sentence in 2004 after being found guilty of sexual assault and extortion.
Tyler pleaded guilty to forcing his hairstylist to perform what a judge called “continuous sex acts” after accusing her of stealing $80,000 worth of his checks. The woman denied stealing the money.
In 2012, Tyler was jailed for three months after an arrest on a misdemeanour domestic abuse count, which was later referred to by Tyler’s attorney as an “unfortunate incident” between two domestic partners “who have cared about each other for 10 years”. The victim was the mother of his two children.
In an April 2021 interview with the Associated Press, Tyler talked about turning his life around and taking a different approach with his music.
“When I look back and listen to the music, man – I was a nasty lil’ rapper,” he said. “A lot of my music now, I imagine myself rapping it to God and if I can rap it, I’m proud.”
