Mystikal

New Orleans rapper Mystikal was denied bond Tuesday afternoon after being arrested Sunday for rape and false imprisonment, according to New Orleans’ ABC affiliate. The bond denial may have to do with the details of the alleged crimes he committed, described in an arrest report also obtained by WBRZ. A spokesperson for the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office said, “He didn’t show the victim any sympathy, and he won’t get any sympathy or special treatment. He will be in general population and incarcerated like anyone else.”

The alleged assault occurred on Saturday after Mystikal — real name Michael Tyler — accused the victim of stealing $100 from him. After allegedly punching her, choking her, pulling some of her hair out, and taking her phone and keys to prevent her escape, she says he fluctuated between agitated and apologetic. While searching for the money, she says she found a “crystalline substance” in a drawer, which police think may have been methamphetamine. Mystikal reportedly asked the woman if he could “feel” her, but when she refused, he pushed her onto a bed and raped her.

He returned her phone so he could CashApp himself $150 dollars — adding the extra $50 himself — and once she drove away, she phoned a friend who she met at a Baton Rouge hospital. After examining her rape kit, deputies found her injuries consistent with her description of the alleged attack, which is the third incident of sexual assault Mystikal has been accused of in the past twenty years. In 2003, he pled guilty to raping his hairdresser, and in 2017, he was accused of an assault at a Shreveport casino. The 2017 case was dropped, however, and he was released on a $3 million bond.

In addition to first-degree rape, false imprisonment, domestic abuse battery (strangulation), simple robbery, and simple criminal damage to property, Mystikal is also being charged with possession of meth, marijuana, Xanax, heroin, and drug paraphernalia after a search of his home.

It’s been a while since Mystikal dominated the pop culture discussion, but the New Orleans rapper has returned to the forefront of the zeitgeist today via an unusual coincidence. When an eyebrow-raising video of someone squaring up with a brown bear invading their yard went viral, fans fondly recalled a classic Mystikal freestyle in which he boasted about fighting a bear himself. Before you could say “pic-a-nic basket,” Mystikal had entered the top trending topics on Twitter as fans observed the funny connection between the viral video and Mystikal’s nearly 10-year-old rap.

In Mystikal’s “On Da Spot” freestyle for DJ Green Lantern’s Sirium/XM show Invasion Radio, the gruff-voiced rapper barks in his signature impactful flow, “If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a grizzly bear, HELP THE BEAR!” And while fighting with wild animals is not recommended — shout-out to Mamadou Ndiaye, aka @mndiaye_97 on TikTok — the individual in the viral video (incidentally, also from TikTok) rolled the dice on protecting their pets when a brown bear tried to climb over their brick fence. They get away with shoving the bear off the fence and collect the pets before running back inside, which is a smart move, all things considered.

And while the scuffle was less a fight with a grizzly bear than a quick shove of a brown bear (there’s about a 400-lb. difference at their smallest), fans couldn’t help drawing the comparison and concluding that maybe Mystikal had a point (again, he does not. If a human being tries to fight a one-ton grizzly bear, they are getting banished to the Netherrealm faster than you can say “Ranger Smith.” If you ever meet a bear, vacate the premises immediately).

Check out the freestyle in full above.