New Orleans rapper Mystikal will spend the next 20 years at Louisiana State Penitentiary which is nicknamed the “Alcatraz of the South”.
Michael Lawrence Tyler, better known as his stage name Mystikal, was arrested in 2022 for allegedly raping and choking a woman at his home in Prairieville, LA.
The victim said Tyler punched her, pulled braids out of her hair and forcibly raped her.
During the hearing, the victim stated she had been raped and tortured for hours. A medical exam later found her injuries were consistent with her statement.
“Once we got there [the hospital], we talked to the victim, who had some very visible injuries on her body, and she was very distraught,” said Donovan Jackson, spokesman for the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office per WAFB. “She talked with us, we interviewed her, and she was able to identify who the suspect was. And in this case, it was Michael Tyler, also known as Mystikal.”
Tyler was held in the Ascension Parish Jail following his arrest, according to jail records. He remained in custody without bond.
He was sentenced last month (June 2026) after entering a guilty plea, though he later attempted to file a motion to withdraw his plea.
Tyler will serve his 20-year sentence at Angola, America’s largest maximum-security prison, after the third-degree rape conviction.
The Louisiana rapper rose to national recognition in the 1990s and is known for his 2000 hit Shake (It Fast), which was nominated for a Grammy in the best rap solo performance category.