The Louisiana rapper has also previously faced legal trouble.

‘Shake Ya Ass’ rapper Mystikal sentenced to 20 years on rape charge

The Louisiana rapper has also previously faced legal trouble.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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June 17, 2026 12:55 a.m. ET

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Mystikal in 2020 in Birmingham, Ala. Credit:

Paras Griffin/Getty

- Mystikal has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty, as part of a deal, to third-degree rape in Louisiana, according to TV station WBRZ.

- The victim had alleged that the rapper raped her at his home in Prairieville, La., in 2022.

- Mystikal also pleaded guilty to sexual battery in 2003.

Mystikal, the rapper whose hit songs include "Shake Ya Ass," has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars on a rape charge.

His victim restated Tuesday in court that the Grammy-nominated rapper, whose real name is Michael Tyler, had raped her, punched her, choked her, and yanked out her braids at his home in Prairieville, La., a town outside Baton Rouge, in 2022.

The woman appeared at the sentencing to ask the judge to hand down a tough punishment, local TV station WBRZ reported.

Mystikal said, "If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence."

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* *has reached out to the artist's representative for comment.

Mystikal pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in March as part of a deal. He had initially been charged with first-degree rape, which would have given him a life sentence. His attorney filed a motion to withdraw that plea because Mystikal "did not have sufficient opportunity to fully consider the consequences" of the deal, per WBRZ.

The legal document cited that Mystikal was "under significant emotional distress and felt substantial pressure to make an immediate decision" when he made the plea. The motion was reportedly dismissed.

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Since his arrest in the case, the rapper has remained at the Ascension Parish Jail.

Mystikal was previously convicted of sexual battery in 2003. He spent six years in federal prison before being released in 2010.

The rapper was indicted on charges of rape and kidnapping in 2018, connected to a 2016 incident. Those charges were dropped in 2020, after he had spent 18 months in jail.

Mystikal performs in 2021.

Stephen J. Cohen/Getty

In an April 2021 interview with the AP, one of his first since the most recent charges at that time had been dismissed, he said he was ready to move on from the legal issues.

The situation was, as he described it, "like a reoccurring bad dream," and he said he wanted to make changes in his life and career.

"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."

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