BATON ROUGE, La. — Michael Lawrence Tyler, the Grammy-nominated artist performing under the name Mystikal, entered a guilty plea Tuesday to charges of third-degree rape stemming from an incident at his Louisiana residence almost four years ago.
Court documents confirm that the 55-year-old musician admitted guilt to the charges during proceedings in an Ascension Parish courthouse.
Attempts to reach Tyler’s legal representation for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.
The conviction carries a potential sentence of up to 25 years in prison with no possibility of parole, probation, or sentence reduction. A sentencing hearing has been set for June 15.
Tyler has remained in custody at the Ascension Parish Jail since his 2022 arrest on allegations of raping and strangling a woman at his Prairieville residence, located approximately 18 miles from Baton Rouge.
The New Orleans-born artist achieved widespread fame during the 1990s and gained particular recognition for his 2000 track “Shake Ya A**,” which earned a Grammy nomination in the best rap solo performance category.
This marks Tyler’s second conviction for a sexual offense. In 2003, he admitted guilt to sexual battery charges and received a six-year prison term. Ironically, that same year brought him two Grammy nominations for his album “Tarantula” in the best rap album category and his song “Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against The Wall)” for best male rap solo performance.
