During his late-’90s and early-aughts heyday, Mystikal was Southern rap’s premier spark plug, an explosive keg of raw aggression peppering his rhymes with the skittering, staccato cadence of a New Orleans second-line parade. Then the Crescent City MC served six years in jail for a sexual-assault charge, from 2004 to 2010; those who haven’t heard him since may be surprised to learn that he hasn’t lost any of his edge.
While this unfortunately extends to his scofflaw ways—Mystikal heads back to prison in May for a three-month sentence, having violated parole in a domestic-violence incident—it more appealingly includes his rapping. Though small, his between-stints catalog is essentially spotless, his rhymes as raw and punchy as ever. Notably potent is his turn on “Original,” his first single since signing with Cash Money Records last November.
Supported by YMCMB top dogs Lil Wayne and Birdman—rivals of sorts during Mystikal’s days with New Orleans’ other ’90s indie-rap powerhouse, No Limit—“Original” unexpectedly dives into Southern racism (“Call me porch monkey / Call me jigaboo / When you know you want to fuck my woman / And eat my BBQ”), while suggesting that his conviction was politically motivated. It’s the sound of a man on fire.—Jesse Serwer