Who is Mystikal, the Shake Ya Ass rapper and millionaire charged with rape?

Hip-hop star Mystikal is making headlines after being charged with one count of first-degree rape following the alleged sexual assault of a woman in Shreveport, Louisiana in October 2016.

Mystikal, born Michael Lawrence Tyler, catapulted to fame with hits including Danger (Been So Long), which featured rising pop star Nivea, and, the Neptunes-produced hit Shake Ya Ass.

He released his debut album, Mystikal, with Big Boy Records in 1994. He signed with to Master P's label No Limit Records in 1996.His fifth studio album Tarantul, released in 2003, earned him two nominations at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album and Best Male Rap Solo Performance.

In 2004, the 46-year-old musician, who hails from New Orleans, began a six-year sentence at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center after pleading guilty to forcing his hairstylist to perform sex acts.

Due to the nature of the charges, the father of three is publicly listed as a lifetime sex offender and is subject to police check-ins. In 2014 he told WBRZ: "I don't do the pity party thing, I have to participate in sex offender groups and stuff like that, it don't stop your life man."

Following his career hiatus which was prompted by his legal woes and personal setbacks, he made a comeback in 2015. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Mystikal is worth an estimated $6m (£4.6m).

"When I first came home man everything was different. It was a mess you know what I'm talking about so now i found my way back to the passion for it man," he told HiphopDX.

"I never lost my passion for the performance side of it but just the composing part of it cause like listening to the radio I'm like "I'm not really finna try to...I don't wanna do no records like that, you know, like some of them. Now they got a lot of good stuff out there too but they got a lot of stuff that doesn't have no soul to it to me. That's what I feel like."

The recent alleged attack took place at a Shreveport casino and coincides with the date of Mystikal's Legends of Southern Hip-Hop concert in Louisiana, which saw the likes of Juvenile, Trick Daddy and Scarface also take to the stage at the CenturyLink Center in Bossier City.

Although his religious views aren't known, Mystikal's most recent Instagram post was a picture of a chapter from the Bible which that shared with his 178k followers three days before turning himself into Caddo Correctional Center. The cryptic caption read: "Keep Calm And Read Psalm #turbulence".