Well -known rappers and their tattoos - trendsetter of the hip hop scene

Well -known rappers and their tattoos - trendsetter of the hip hop scene

Tattooed skin and rap have simply belonged together since Tupac Shakur at the latest. Today there are hardly any rappers that do without tattoos. But why are the art forms actually connected so closely? What do the tattoos of the big stars of the hip hop scene mean and how does the style affect their listeners? We scan a few influential hip hop stars and show which motifs rapper can be stabbed most frequently.

Rap in the 1990s: a hard business

The first naked and fully tattooed upper body of rappers appeared in music videos in the 1990s. Senders like MTV made musicians into influential style. Early world stars of the scene like Notorious B.I.G. And the guys from Run DMC did not wear any visible tattoos, but hats and plenty of showy jewelry. At the time of the East Coast-West Coast rivalries, rap was increasingly closer to the black Gang scene connected in the big cities. Tattoos were considered to be a distinguishing sign there and were even more common Hand Poked Stay in prison. The rappers of the scene also took over this "hard" look, whose gait rivalries were hardly inferior to those of organized crime. Here are a few facts:

• Allegedly let himself be Biggie Smalls (Notorious B.I.G.) On the day of his death his first tattoo, a biblical psalm: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall i Fear?" - A few hours later he was at one Drive-by Attentat shot.
• A short time later, rapper Sean Combs (also known as Puff Daddy or P. Diddy) got the same psalm to the same place. He was there with the attack, but survived.
• 2pac was considered "tutorous" during his lifetime - a total of 21 individual motifs adorned its upper body. Most of the time, these are acronyms like "Thug Life" (The Hate U Give Little Infants Fuck Everybody) or "Mob" (Money Over Bitches). Usually the importance of the lettering and symbols is not immediately apparent, so they are personal memories and messages.
• Among other things, 2PAC also wore an AK-47 submachine gun with the lettering "50 Niggaz" on the chest (as a symbol for black communities in all 50 US states) and a black panther on the upper arm (as a symbol for the Black Panther movement, who belonged to his ancestors). Political messages were not only found in the lyrics of rappers, but also on their skin.

Large role models and large wisdom

To this day, rapper tends to become meaningful and very personal motifs. Most rapper tattoos inspire large historical role models, great wisdom and great memories. Young talents even take other rappers than role models. Here some examples:

• rapper 50 cents Wear a huge 50 on the back. Until recently, he carried another 50 in his arm, but he had his sleeves removed in favor of his acting career. This is reminiscent of Kelvin Martin, called 50 cents, a gangster who sustained and shot some dealers (including friends) in the 1980s.
• 2pac wore a portrait of Nefertiti On the chest, including the lettering "2 Die 4" - the tattoo stood for his mother, who advised him early, "if you have nothing to live for you need to find something for."
• P. Diddy has a signature of his great role model and friend at the same place Muhammad Ali.
• Drake Wear a naturalistic portrait of Bleek Gilliam, a fictional blues musician in the film "Mo 'Better Blues" from 1990. Bleek was played by Denzel Washington.
• In addition, Drake portraits of influential hip hop musicians and mentors on the skin: Lil Wayne adorns his upper arm, a portrait of Sade Adu adorns his hip.

Cloud rapper and their facial tattoos

Autotune, colorful braids, drug abuse and casual texts about lifestyle and party - the modern rap scene doesn't have much together with the gangstrap of the 1990s. However, when choosing tattoo motifs, young rappers remain loyal to the established trends. Creed and love of love In the form of keywords and cryptic abbreviations, typical hip hop are still motifs. A striking difference: the more obvious, the better a tattoo is placed these days. The foundation for this trend was probably liling Lil 'Wayne, who had tears stung in the face in the early 2000s. Face tattoos still find many (tattooed and non -tattooed) people. This is exactly why the rebellious rap youth seems to love this trend that way. Here are a few examples for other rappers with facial tattoos:

• Post Malone Does not wear one, not two, but now a total of six tattoos on the face. A sword, barbed wire, a knightly arm with Morgenstern, the lettering "Stay Away" on the temple and "Always Tired" on the eye rings are the highlights. Does not act as daunting as he thinks, but the main thing is that it attracts attention.
• The squeaky -colored Tekashi 6ix9ine Is a strong influence for German young artists-by the way, he is currently in prison, among other things because of a sex video with a 13-year-old and domestic violence. His face adorns a huge "69", and for safety on his cheek again: "Six nine". The highlight: the head of the creepy doll from the "Saw" film series on his right cheek.
• 21 Savage Bears a washed -out dagger between the eyebrows. The tattoo is a memory of his little brother who wore the same tattoo and was killed as a teenager at a drug deal. "Death Before Dishonor" is on his forehead.