Michael Lawrence Tyler, better known by his stage name Mystikal, is an American rapper, and actor from New Orleans. A Persian Gulf war veteran who rose to stardom as a protégé of the rap impresario Master P, Tyler combined powerful, passionate vocals that would range from a conspiratorial whisper to vein-popping screams in the course of a few words, and was constantly accelerating and decelerating his delivery. The sound was new, but not unprecedented, as Tyler’s vocals were reminiscent of R&B screamers like Little Richard and James Brown, using piano and saxophone sounds to accentuate the delivery.

Mystikal’s debut album, Mystikal, was released on New Orleans-based independent record label Big Boy Records in 1994. Mystikal signed to Jive Records and released Mind of Mystikal in 1995. He signed to Master P’s No Limit Records in 1996 and released Unpredictable in 1997. He appeared on many of the No Limit albums in 1997-1998. In 1998 he released Ghetto Fabulous. That was his last album with the label, and he left in early 1999 to go on his own.