The proverbial elephant was in the room - or at least at the Congo Square stage - Friday afternoon at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. To his credit, Mystikal addressed it right away.

"How many of y'all heard I was in jail?" he asked the crowd. "Well, I'm here, so y'all know that was a lie. Now, how many of y'all heard I was going to jail?" There wasmore subdued noise; even at an outdoor festival in response to a headliner's prompt, it feels odd to hoot and holler about impending incarceration.

"Well," Mystikal answered with a sheepish grin, "people talk too much."

Friday's Congo Square set should have been just another in Mike Tyler's accumulating collection of triumphs following his release from prison in early 2010. After serving a six-year sentence for sexual battery and extortion charges, the rapper hit the ground running. He sold out several shows at the House of Blues and ignited Congo Square in 2010 and 2011 with a live funk band.

Almost immediately after his release, he threw himself into the studio with KLC, the producer who had masterminded the bulk of his definitive '90s work for the No Limit label. In late 2011, he signed to New Orleans' other heritage hip-hop independent, Cash Money, whose influence in the world of contemporary rap is nearly unparalleled.

Headlining the Young Money Cash Money showcase at SXSW in 2012, Mystikal was electrifying. Fans from the '90s welcomed him home with open arms, and listeners whose introduction to YMCMB came with new sensations Drake and Nicki Minaj were captivated by his bombastic energy.

Then, about two weeks ago,he was sentenced to three months in jail forviolating the terms of his five-year probation with a domestic violence charge. He will return to jail May 14.

"I'm going through some bad things," he admitted onstage. "But it's gonna be all right."

Mystikal, in white jeans and T-shirt, took the stage with a full funk band, Hot Sausage,that included DJ C. Smith, Galactic's Ben Ellman on baritone sax and Danny Kartel on guitar. The band wore black YMCMB T-shirts customized with Mystikal's name. New Orleans hip-hop icon Mia X, Mystikal's No Limit labelmate, joined him onstage for a snippet of "Make 'Em Say Ungh."

Even before Mystikal fully explored the possibilities of live instrumentation, the comparisons to James Brown flew fast and furious. With a full band, the similarities are pretty apparent; KLC and Leroy "Precise" Edwards' production on Mystikal's best-known songs -- Friday he performed many, including "Tarantula," "Danger," "Never Gonna Bounce," "Here I Go," "The Man Right Chea" and the particularly appropriate "If It Ain't Live It Ain't Me" -- was already funky. Live onstage, Mystikal goes into full-on soul brother mode, yelping, growling and undulating to the music.

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Mystikal addresses personal problems in emotional New Orleans Jazz Fest set