Former No Limit Rapper Mystikal Sentenced to 20 Years in Louisiana Rape Case

Michael Lawrence Tyler, the rapper known as Mystikal, is shown in a Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office booking photo from a previous arrest in Shreveport, La. Tyler was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison in Ascension Parish after pleading guilty to third-degree rape in a separate 2022 case. (Photo/Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, File)

Mystikal’s long-running Louisiana rape case ended Tuesday with a 20-year prison sentence, a rejected attempt to take back his guilty plea and another grim turn in the legal history of one of No Limit Records’ most recognizable voices.
The New Orleans rapper, whose legal name is Michael Lawrence Tyler, was sentenced in Ascension Parish after pleading guilty in March to third-degree rape in connection with a 2022 assault at his Prairieville home.

Court records show Tyler’s guilty plea reduced the case from an original first-degree rape charge, which could have carried a mandatory life sentence if he had been convicted as originally charged. Prosecutors also agreed not to pursue several additional counts tied to the case, including allegations of false imprisonment, domestic abuse battery by strangulation, simple robbery and property damage.

Under Louisiana law, third-degree rape carries a maximum sentence of 25 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. In Tyler’s case, the plea agreement capped his exposure at 20 years.

The judge gave him all 20.

Before sentencing, Tyler’s attorney tried to withdraw the guilty plea, arguing that Tyler had not had enough time to fully consider the consequences of the agreement. The court rejected that request before imposing the sentence.

During the hearing, the victim asked for the maximum sentence and described being punched, choked, raped and prevented from leaving Tyler’s Prairieville home. Tyler was allowed to address the court after she spoke, though he was told to direct his remarks to the judge rather than to the victim.

“If I did that to you, I deserve the max sentence,” Tyler said, according to WBRZ.

The sentence closes a case that had kept Tyler in the Ascension Parish Jail without bond since his 2022 arrest. Deputies arrested him after authorities said a woman reported being sexually assaulted at a hospital and identified Tyler as the suspect.

The judge also ordered Tyler to continue complying with sex offender registration requirements after his release.

That requirement predates this case. Tyler was already a registered sex offender after pleading guilty in 2003 to sexual battery and extortion in an unrelated case involving his hairstylist. He served six years in prison in that case.

He was also charged in a separate 2017 rape and kidnapping case in Caddo Parish, but those charges were later dropped after he spent more than a year in jail.

Before his criminal cases became the dominant story around him, Mystikal was one of the most electric voices to emerge from No Limit Records’ late-1990s run. His raspy, explosive delivery powered hits including “Shake Ya Ass,” “Danger (Been So Long)” and “Bouncin’ Back (Bumpin’ Me Against the Wall).” His 2000 album “Let’s Get Ready” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and he later earned Grammy nominations for “Tarantula” and “Bouncin’ Back.”

Tuesday’s sentence turns what had been a pending legal threat into a long prison term. For fans who remember Mystikal as one of Southern rap’s most distinctive performers, the ruling is also a reminder that his musical legacy has been inseparable for years from a criminal record that repeatedly pushed him out of the spotlight and back into court.

Sega Adds Tupac Shakur’s Likeness to 'Stranger Than Heaven'

Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur’s death, Snoop Dogg has helped introduce another digital use of the late rapper’s image — this time inside a video game.

Sega of America and RGG Studio announced during Summer Game Fest that Shakur will appear in “Stranger Than Heaven,” the upcoming action-adventure game from the studio behind the “Like a Dragon” series. The reveal comes as fans mark what would have been Shakur’s 55th birthday on June 16.

The moment immediately recalled Shakur’s famous 2012 Coachella appearance, when a digital projection performed alongside Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. This version is different: Shakur is being placed inside an interactive game as Amaru, a character created with approval and supervision from Amaru Entertainment, the company tied to his estate.

Snoop, who also appears in the game as a smuggler named Orpheus, introduced the reveal with his son, Cordell Broadus. During the presentation, Snoop said he, Broadus and the Tupac estate worked closely together on the inclusion.

“The Tupac estate and my son and myself, we work very closely together,” Snoop said, according to PC Gamer and Video Games Chronicle. “So it just made sense to put him in this game, because his likeness and his spirit still lives on.”

Sega said Shakur’s portrayal was created without artificial intelligence and with permission and continuing oversight from Amaru Entertainment. The company said RGG Studio based the character design on archival photographs and footage. More details about Amaru’s role are expected later.

That no-AI detail is important. Fans have already seen posthumous albums, hologram-style performances, deepfakes and digital recreations of late artists. Estate approval answers part of the question. It does not automatically settle how people will feel about seeing Tupac’s likeness used in a new crime drama three decades after his death.

“Stranger Than Heaven” follows Makoto Daito across a 50-year story that begins in 1915. The game moves through five Japanese cities and eras, mixing crime, show business and combat. Snoop’s Orpheus finds Makoto after he stows away on a ship bound for Japan, while Broadus also plays a role that has not been fully detailed.

The trailer did not explain how Shakur’s character fits into the story. It also did not show him speaking. That leaves the central question open: whether Amaru is a meaningful story role, a careful cameo or another example of entertainment finding new places to put a dead icon’s image.

Sega and RGG Studio are clearly trying to get ahead of that concern by emphasizing estate approval, archival materials and the absence of AI. Snoop’s involvement also gives the project a direct connection to Shakur’s world. The two were linked by Death Row Records, West Coast rap and one of hip-hop’s most scrutinized eras.

Still, fans will judge the finished game by what it does with Tupac, not by who introduced the trailer.

“Stranger Than Heaven” is scheduled for release Jan. 15, 2027. For now, the safest read is this: Tupac is not being brought back. His likeness is being licensed into a video game with his estate’s approval and Snoop Dogg’s public blessing. Whether that feels like tribute, strategy or something in between will depend on what players see when the game arrives.

Fred Alexander Jr., Drummer for Funk and R&B Band Lakeside, Dies

Fred Alexander Jr., longtime drummer for Lakeside, sits behind his drum kit in a photo shared by The Original Lakeside - Unfiltered. The group remembered Alexander as “our friend, our family and our band member of over 40 years.” (Photo Credit: The Original Lakeside - Unfiltered/Facebook)

Fred Alexander Jr., the Lakeside drummer whose pocket helped carry “Fantastic Voyage” from the funk era into old-school R&B memory, has died.

Alexander’s death was announced by bandmate Stephen Shockley in a social media post. A cause of death and funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

“Today is a Very Sad Day for our band Lakeside because we lost Fred Alexander,” Shockley wrote, calling him “The little General” and “The Backbone to all of our Records.”

Alexander’s role in Lakeside went beyond the drum kit. He was the drummer, the timekeeper and, later, one of the people helping keep the band’s business and road life together.

Alexander joined Lakeside in 1977, just as the Dayton-born band was moving into the stretch that would define its recording legacy. Lakeside had come through the Midwest funk circuit, early label stops and industry false starts before finding its place with Dick Griffey’s Solar Records, the Los Angeles label that also became home to acts including the Whispers, Shalamar, Midnight Star and Klymaxx.

That Solar run made Lakeside one of the most reliable self-contained funk and R&B bands of its era. The group’s records were not built only around lead vocals or studio polish. They moved because the band could play.

Alexander was part of that engine.

On “It’s All the Way Live,” the band’s 1978 breakthrough, Lakeside turned a stage command into a groove. On “Fantastic Voyage,” its signature record, the group built a party anthem that became bigger than its original chart moment. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart and later found another life in 1990s hip-hop when Coolio used it as the foundation for his own “Fantastic Voyage.”

Alexander’s role also extended into the group’s survival after its main chart years. A 2025 Truth in Rhythm interview described him as Lakeside’s general manager, and Shockley’s tribute pointed to the administrative weight Alexander carried inside the organization.

Cheryl 'Salt' James Brings Gospel Lift to Solo Rollout With 'Overcomers'

Cheryl “Salt” James appears in artwork for “Overcomers,” her new single featuring Erica Campbell. James, one half of Salt-N-Pepa, is building toward her debut solo album, “Salty N Lit,” after a run of major legacy honors for the pioneering rap group. (Photo Credit: Cheryl “Salt” James/Bandcamp)

Cheryl “Salt” James has spent four decades in hip hop history as part of a group voice — sharp, playful, direct and impossible to write around.

Now she is building a solo chapter in her own name.

James, one half of Salt-N-Pepa, released “Overcomers” on Friday, a new single with Grammy-winning gospel singer Erica Campbell. The song is the latest step toward James’ forthcoming debut solo album, “Salty N Lit,” which has been announced for spring/summer 2026.

On her Bandcamp page, James described “Overcomers” as “an anthem for my seasoned Queens,” framing the record around women who have carried struggle, faith, self-love and survival into another season of life.

That tone is not a break from the Salt-N-Pepa story so much as a narrowing of the lens. Salt-N-Pepa’s best records were never just party records, even when they filled the floor. “Push It,” “Expression,” “Let’s Talk About Sex,” “Shoop,” “Whatta Man” and “None of Your Business” moved through clubs, radio and video countdowns while pushing women’s voices deeper into rap’s center.

The solo material shifts the setting but not the spine. “Chosen” opened the rollout last year. “Kings & Queens” followed in January, with a video filmed at The Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. “Diamonds in the Light” arrived in March. “Overcomers” brings Campbell into the frame, giving the project its clearest gospel connection yet.

The timing matters. James is releasing solo music after a run of institutional honors that has placed Salt-N-Pepa’s influence back in formal record. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025 in the Musical Influence category, with Missy Elliott presenting the honor. The Rock Hall describes Salt-N-Pepa as the first major all-female rap group to go both gold and platinum and the first to win a Grammy.

Salt-N-Pepa, with DJ Spinderella, also received the Hall of Fame honor at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards. At that ceremony, James did not simply keep the focus on the past. She used the moment to perform the opening verse of “Kings & Queens,” folding the solo work into the larger arc of the group’s legacy.

That is the more interesting story than a veteran rapper “stepping into a solo era.” James is not trying to outrun Salt-N-Pepa. She is working from inside the authority that catalog gave her, using it to speak more directly about faith, age, survival and purpose.

Hip-hop has not always known what to do with women who helped build the form and then refused to disappear into tribute packages. “Salty N Lit” arrives in that space: not as a comeback, exactly, and not as nostalgia. It is a late-career statement from an artist whose voice helped make room for women in rap to be funny, sexual, outspoken, spiritual, stylish, political and grown.

With “Overcomers,” James is not asking whether she still belongs in hip-hop’s story.

She is writing from the position of someone who already does.

Talay Riley, British Hitmaker Who Toured With Usher and Wrote for H.E.R., Dies at 35

British R&B singer and songwriter Talay Riley smiles in an undated photograph. Riley, 35, who helped bridge the gap between 2000s R&B and the modern streaming era, died Friday following a stabbing in East London. (Photo: Family Handout)

Talay Riley, a British singer, songwriter and producer whose real name was Mark Orabiyi, died Friday after a stabbing in east London. He was 35.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called around 9 a.m. Friday to reports of a stabbing on Pankhurst Avenue in Silvertown. Riley was found with stab wounds in the garden of a nearby property on Rayleigh Road. Police said he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Another man in his 20s was taken to a hospital with multiple stab wounds. Police said his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Three people were arrested on suspicion of murder. A 27-year-old man has been released on bail pending further inquiries, while a 24-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were released with no further action after police questioning, according to British news reports. The investigation remains ongoing.

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Riley belonged to the part of R&B history that often hides in the credits. Before some listeners knew his name, they knew the records: Khalid’s “Young Dumb & Broke,” H.E.R.’s “Lights On,” Kehlani’s “Out the Window” and Chip’s “Oopsy Daisy.” Riley’s work moved through the writing rooms and vocal sessions that helped shape the sound of R&B, pop and hip-hop after the 2000s arena era.

Riley’s death drew grief from across the British and American music worlds, where he was known as both an artist and a writer whose reach extended well beyond his own recordings.

His brother Michael Orabiyi, the producer and songwriter known professionally as Scribz Riley, confirmed the loss in an Instagram tribute.

“My heart is shattered! This doesn’t feel real. It feels like a bad dream,” he wrote.

Scribz Riley said the brothers had spoken before Talay went to sleep about the future, staying positive and everything they still had left to do.

“I never imagined that would be our last conversation,” he wrote.

He described his brother as “a friend to many, a mentor, an inspiration, and a light in so many people’s lives.”

“He loved deeply, gave freely, and touched countless people through his talent, kindness, and spirit,” Scribz Riley wrote.

The tribute drew condolences from artists who understood the reach of Riley’s work. Stormzy wrote, “I’m sorry bro.” Khalid wrote, “I’m so sorry bro … I’m sending you so much love.” Kehlani wrote, “Big hugs Scribs I’m so sorry.” Wretch 32 called Riley “a gem” and said he would be “missed + never forgotten.”

In a family statement reported by British news outlets, relatives remembered Riley as “a beloved son, brother, uncle and friend.”

“We will always cherish his kindness, beautiful spirit and remarkable talent,” the family said. “His presence touched many lives, and his memory will remain in our hearts forever.”

Riley’s career connected several eras of R&B and pop. He signed his first major publishing deal at 18 and later wrote Chip’s U.K. No. 1 single “Oopsy Daisy.” He also worked on records connected to Tinie Tempah, Jessie J, Britney Spears, Craig David, Khalid, H.E.R., Kehlani, the Chainsmokers and others.

For listeners who came up on the Usher and Trey Songz era, Riley also belonged to the bridge between 2000s R&B showmanship and the global songwriting economy that followed. He toured with Usher, while his later credits placed him inside the streaming-era sound of artists such as Khalid and H.E.R.

Riley received a writing credit on H.E.R.’s “Lights On,” which appeared on the singer’s self-titled album “H.E.R.” The album won Best R&B album at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

Florida Venue Faces Backlash as Sen. Rick Scott Targets Upcoming Ye Performances

A promotional image advertises Ye’s scheduled June 26, 2026, concert at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has urged the Tampa Sports Authority to review scheduled concerts by the artist formerly known as Kanye West, arguing that a taxpayer-supported venue should not give him a platform after years of antisemitic remarks.

A public stadium in Tampa has become the next test of how far Ye’s catalog can still carry him after years of antisemitic remarks turned his tour into a fight over speech, public money and institutional responsibility.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is pressing the Tampa Sports Authority to reconsider two scheduled Ye concerts at Raymond James Stadium, arguing that a taxpayer-supported venue should not help stage performances by the artist formerly known as Kanye West.

Ye is scheduled to perform June 26 and 28 at the Tampa stadium. Raymond James Stadium’s official events page still listed both shows Friday, with each scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

In a letter sent Thursday to the Tampa Sports Authority’s board of directors, Scott called Ye a “vocal antisemite” and urged the authority to carefully review the decision to host him.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., urges the Tampa Sports Authority Board of Directors to review scheduled Ye concerts at Raymond James Stadium in a June 4, 2026, letter. Scott argued that taxpayer-supported facilities should not give a stage to the artist formerly known as Kanye West after years of antisemitic remarks and controversy over swastika merchandise. (Office of U.S. Sen. Rick Scott)

“Kanye West’s consistent antisemitic attacks are an affront to the values of the people of the Hillsborough community,” Scott wrote.

Scott cited Ye’s past praise of Nazis, his claim that he was one and a 2025 Super Bowl ad that directed viewers to merchandise featuring swastikas. He argued that a stadium supported by public dollars should not be used to give the artist a platform.

“No taxpayer dollars should be used to give a vocal antisemite a stage in Florida,” Scott wrote. “What we spend public money on reflects our values, and using dollars from hardworking families to platform a hateful person pushing evil ideologies is not a Florida value.”

The Tampa Sports Authority manages Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one of Florida’s highest-profile public sports and entertainment venues. In its response, the authority did not indicate the concerts were in immediate jeopardy.

“We recognize the concerns and viewpoints being expressed about the upcoming events at Raymond James Stadium,” the authority said in a statement. “As a public agency, we follow the principles of free speech in operating our venue, although we do not condone remarks or actions from any artists that are offensive and divisive.”

That response places the Tampa shows in a different position from a private venue’s booking decision. Scott is framing the issue around public money and community values. The authority is pointing to the free-speech principles that come with operating a public venue. The result is a collision between a legacy rap star’s market power and the civic responsibilities attached to the building where he is scheduled to perform.

For audiences who watched West alter the trajectory of 2000s hip-hop, the Tampa dispute carries its own dissonance. The producer and rapper who once challenged the American political establishment on behalf of people left out of its priorities is now drawing government pressure over antisemitic remarks, Nazi praise and merchandise tied to swastika imagery.

That tension is part of why the story travels beyond a local concert fight. Ye’s early albums, including “The College Dropout,” “Late Registration” and “Graduation,” helped expand mainstream rap’s emotional and sonic language. Now, the same catalog that made him a defining artist of the 2000s is moving through a public reckoning over what institutions are willing to host after the artist has made himself commercially powerful and publicly toxic.

The pressure in Florida follows similar challenges overseas. Ye was recently barred from entering the United Kingdom over his remarks, while scheduled performances in Italy and Poland were scrapped. A Dutch court this week allowed two concerts in the Netherlands to proceed, rejecting an effort by a Jewish organization to block them on public order grounds.

In Europe, governments, courts and Jewish organizations have been forced to weigh Ye’s history of antisemitic statements against public order, censorship laws and venue decisions. In Tampa, the argument has moved to a publicly owned American stadium, where Scott’s demand and the authority’s response have turned two scheduled concerts into a broader test of speech, money and consequence.

For now, the shows remain listed. So does the pressure to stop them.

Michael Jackson’s 'Chicago' Gives Him Hot 100 Entries in Six Decades

Cover art for Michael Jackson’s “Chicago,” a track from the 2014 posthumous album “Xscape.” The song debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Jackson new chart entries in six decades and showing how streaming and short-form video can turn a deep cut into a new chart moment years later. (MJJ Productions/Epic Records)

Michael Jackson’s “Chicago” was not built like a comeback single.

It was not one of the untouchable 1980s records that never really left radio. It was not featured in the new biopic. It was not even a hit when it first surfaced in 2014 on the posthumous album “Xscape.”

That is what makes its new Billboard moment more interesting.

“Chicago” debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated June 6, making Jackson the first artist with new Hot 100 entries in six different decades, from the 1970s through the 2020s. The song also becomes his 52nd solo entry on the chart.

The numbers tell part of the story. “Chicago” drew 10.7 million official on-demand U.S. streams during the May 22-28 tracking week, a 30% jump from the previous week, according to Luminate data cited by Billboard and People. Under Billboard rules, older songs can enter the Hot 100 if they rank in the top 50 and show meaningful growth.

The rest of the story belongs to the way catalog now moves.

The “Xscape” version of “Chicago,” written by Cory Rooney, was produced by Timbaland and Jerome “J-Roc” Harmon. The song has found a new audience through streaming and TikTok at the same time Jackson’s catalog is benefiting from renewed attention around the film “Michael.” But the song’s rise is not a simple movie bump, as is not featured in the film.

That matters. The track’s path is less about a soundtrack push than a deep cut becoming newly legible to listeners who did not meet Jackson through radio, MTV, Motown specials or the first life of “Thriller.” They met the song through the modern discovery machine: fragments, algorithms, playlists, short videos and catalog curiosity.

Jackson’s best-known records have also moved in the same chart cycle. On the latest Hot 100, “Billie Jean” sits at No. 19, “Human Nature” at No. 31 and “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” at No. 43. Earlier this spring, six Jackson songs charted simultaneously, a reminder that the current surge is broader than one viral track.

Still, “Chicago” is the record that changes the chart history. It joins “Love Never Felt So Good,” featuring Justin Timberlake, and “Slave to the Rhythm” as Hot 100 entries from “Xscape.” But unlike “Love Never Felt So Good,” which was presented as a major posthumous single, “Chicago” has taken the long way around.

That long route is the point. Catalog used to move in predictable waves: anniversaries, reissues, documentaries, death, scandal, commercials and tribute performances. Those forces still matter. But in the streaming era, a song can wait in the middle of an album for 12 years and become new again because enough people finally hear the same few seconds at the same time.

For Jackson, whose career was built on controlling spectacle, the achievement lands differently. This is not the “Thriller” video changing MTV, the Motown 25 moonwalk resetting television or a blockbuster album forcing the industry to recalculate pop ambition. It is quieter, stranger and more modern: a non-single from the estate era entering chart history through the habits of listeners born long after his imperial run.

That does not make the record bigger than the classics. It makes the catalog harder to contain.

“Chicago” is not the reason Michael Jackson matters. It is proof that the machinery around his music keeps changing, and the music keeps finding its way back into the room.

Peabo Bryson, Voice Behind 'A Whole New World,' Dies at 75 After Stroke

Peabo Bryson appears in an undated photo posted to his official Facebook page. Bryson, the two-time Grammy-winning R&B singer known for “Beauty and the Beast,” “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme)” and decades of romantic ballads, died Tuesday at 75, days after suffering a stroke. (Credit: Peabo Bryson/Facebook)

Peabo Bryson, the two-time Grammy-winning R&B balladeer whose voice moved from soul radio to Disney’s early 1990s renaissance without losing its foundation, died Tuesday evening, days after suffering a stroke. He was 75.

His family confirmed his death in a statement, saying it found comfort in knowing “how deeply Peabo was loved and how many lives were touched by his voice and his generous spirit.”

The announcement came after Bryson’s representative said Sunday that the singer had suffered a stroke and was under medical care. At the time, his family asked for privacy as he received treatment.

Bryson’s voice became part of pop memory through two of the most recognizable movie duets of the early 1990s. He won Grammys for “Beauty and the Beast,” performed with Celine Dion, and “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme),” performed with Regina Belle. Both songs won best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal.

Those records made him part of childhood for millions. But R&B audiences knew Bryson long before animated films carried his voice into the pop mainstream.

Born Robert L. Bryson in Greenville, South Carolina, Bryson came through the Southern music circuit before becoming one of contemporary R&B’s premier male vocalists. His official biography says he got his start as lead singer of Al Freeman & The Upsetters and Moses Dillard & The Tex-Town Display before releasing his 1976 debut LP, “Peabo,” on Atlanta’s Bullet/Bang label.

His catalog includes “Feel the Fire,” “I’m So Into You,” “If Ever You’re in My Arms Again,” “Can You Stop the Rain” and “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love,” his duet with Roberta Flack.