Mandolyn Wind Ludlum (born March 28, 1974),[1] better known by her stage name Mystic, is an American singer and rapper from the San Francisco Bay Area.
[3][14] She worked with respected underground hip-hop producers including Shock G and A-Plus on her 2001 critically acclaimed debut album, Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom, which was labelled as "conscious rap" and saw her receiving comparisons with Lauryn Hill.
[24] In August 2011, Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom was released as a digital download for the first time via Universal Music Group, with a website also opened featuring stories from fans related to the album.
She believes "one of the roles of hip-hop as a public art form is to bring traumas out of darkness and into the light, where they can be examined and processed—maybe even let go—in communion with others," and practiced this by rapping about losing her father to a drug overdose and experiencing sexual abuse.
[10] From 2007-2021, Mystic also worked with the Hip Hop Caucus, a non-profit organization that aims to promote political activism for young U.S. voters using hip-hop music and culture.
[5][33] Her latest project, currently in post-production, is a short film called A Black Love Trilogy, which she co-wrote, co-directed and stars in.