bequest hidebound: Mystikal 'Couldn't Avoid' Lil Wayne In Prison

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Mystikal 'Couldn't Avoid' Lil Wayne In Prison

'That was painful, man. To look at TV, like, I wasn't on there,' Cash Money signee tells 'RapFix Live' of his six years in prison.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Mystikal on "RapFix Live"
Photo: Natasha Chandel/ MTV News

A six-year prison sentence is no doubt derailing, but keeping a cool head has gotten Mystikal back on track, with a new record deal and album coming out on Cash Money Records.

"For six years, I was looking up. The only people that were under me were people that were deceased — that's kind of how you feel," the fiery New Orleans MC told "RapFix Live" host Sway Calloway on the show Wednesday (March 14). "To come home and be with the #1 rap label? Come on."

Mystikal describes the experience as humbling. His "Original" music video, featuring Lil Wayne and Birdman, has already clocked in more than 6 million views on WorldStarHipHop.

In 2004, the former No Limit Records star went to prison on charges of sexual battery, extortion and failing to file tax returns. He was released in 2010, and though he has been working on music ever since, his biggest news came in December when he officially announced his signing to Cash Money.

Going from behind bars to spitting bars alongside Lil Wayne is quite a feat. "The hardest part was making the transition from everything that I was doing to everything that I was able to do," the Tarantula said of his adjustment from rap star to inmate. "I kinda disconnected from the hip-hop scene, 'cause that was painful, man. To look at TV, like, I wasn't on there."

One of the rappers he would constantly see on the television: Weezy, of course. "That was one you couldn't avoid, that whole camp and Drake and Nicki," he said. "And the whole time, working it out like, 'That's where I'm going anyway.' "

Are you looking forward to Mystikal's upcoming Cash Money debut album? Tell us in the comments!

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