S. Samuel
Cash Money Records rapper Mystikal recently talked about preparing his long-awaited comeback album through Birdman's label and how much more difficult his recent 90-day stint behind bars was compared to the six years he served in the 2000's.
Mystikal said one of the first things he had to take care of after initially getting released a few years ago was discovering what audience he needed to cater with his music.
“Six years is a long f*cking time,” Michael “Mystikal” Tyler says of his time at Louisiana’s Elayn Hunt Correctional Center. “When I came home after the f*cking six years I passed the mirror and said, ‘What up, O.G.?’ And I had to stop. I said, ‘Lord, O.G. – oh, I’m an O.G. What the f*ck?’ … The first thing I had to do when I came home is see who the f*ck I was talking to, you know, because I had some live rounds, because I wasn’t hitting the target,” he says. Newly trained-out, his biceps bulge from beneath a royal blue New Orleans t-shirt, as if Mystikal is expressing his own sense of urgency to take back the mantel of Louisiana rap with his first studio album in nearly 12 years. It’s really the backpack kids that you’ve got to get. That little motherf*cker that jumped over my head with the skateboard and the Beats headphones playing Lil Wayne. To win, you’ve got to get him.” (Rolling Stone)
The New Orleans rap veteran also briefly discussed how frustated he was over having to go back to jail for three months over a probation violation.
“I had my head sticking through the roof, and I was just trying to get the rest of my body through,” he says of the 90-day stint. “It was a huge setback – self-inflicted of course, because if I don’t shoot myself in the foot then it won’t be a race. I have to make it hard as possible for myself. It hurt me more than the f*ckin’ six years did, really.” For now, he’s just trying to stay optimistic and out of trouble. “We’ve been f*ckin’ getting it. It’s the difference being the age I am now as opposed to a few years ago. The opportunities are so vast and the machine is primed and running. All you have to do is put me in front of the people and put the beat in front of me, and the rest is history.” (Rolling Stone)
Last summer, the rapper reflected on his short-lived bid coming up shortly after landing a new record deal and putting out new music.
“81 days, I’ma be right back. Now that’s that bullsh*t! Man, say bruh, the 81 days is pretty much as tough as those 6 [years]. Of course not as bad. Just the timing, I had made it home, inked my deal and then was on my way up the charts and here goes the bullsh*t again. God d*mn. I definitely took advantage of it. I used it as an opportunity to judge calm down and reflect on everything and just stay fresh, stay hungry, stay ready.” (#Mystikal Monday)
The former No Limit Records star was released from jail in early August.
Mystikal is a free man … after spending more than 2 months in jail for violating his probation … TMZ has learned. The “Shake Ya Ass” rapper was released from the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail in Louisiana early this morning … where he had been incarcerated since May 14. As we previously reported, Mystikal was sentenced to 90 days behind bars after being arrested for domestic abuse … a violation of his probation from a previous sexual battery and extortion conviction. (TMZ)
Check out a recent Mystikal interview:
