10 Rappers With Surprising Face Tattoos
Finding a rapper who is covered in tattoos is no difficult feat, but still rare are those rappers brave enough to permanently ink their faces. Lil Wayne's "Fear of God" ink on his eyelids drew a few stares back in 2008, but this year there has been a surge in the number of rhymers sporting nonsensical face tattoos. One southern spitter kicked off 2011 by tattooing an icy sweet treat right across his face. While his body art sits high on the shock scale, there's a slew of others with some surprising ink as well. The most recent being a rotund rapper who decided to get a brand name permanently put on his left cheek. Here's 10 rappers with facial tats sure to perplex the masses.
10. Wiz Khalifa's Star Tattoo
Wiz Khalifa's tattoo count is well into the No. 900, as far as the Pittsburgh rapper can guess, but only six of those can be found on his face. While most of his ink is found from the neck down, he once made the odd decision to tattoo a small star near to his right eye. The significance of the star is unknown, but still, it beats one particular April Fool's joke, which claimed that 'Roll Up' rhymer had tatted the name of his girlfriend Amber Rose on his face.
9. Diamond's Bullet Tattoo
Former Crime Mob rapper Diamondtook to Twitter in early March to announce that she had tattooed a bullet next to her ear. She tweeted a photo with the "clever" caption, "You only get one shot!" then proceeded to spark a debate with her followers over whether the tattoo was real or not. While she had everyone's attention -- at some point she actually wrote, "I love controversy!" -- Diamond used the opportunity to shamelessly plug her latest project. Hard to say which one was a bigger fail.
8. Lil Wayne's Glow-in-the-Dark Star Tattoos
In the video for his single 'I Am Not A Human Being,' Lil Wayne unveiled some new body ink in the form of glow-in-the-dark stars. The video's director confirmed that Wayne's decision to shoot the video in black light stemmed from a desire to see his stars, well, glow. And just so no one was confused, Wayne issued a disclaimer to fans before releasing the video: "Don't think that I got some s--- painted on me. The s--- hurt."
7. Tyga's Jimmy Valvano Tattoo From Lil Wayne
Two years ago, Tyga demonstrated his fanaticism for Lil Wayne by letting the Young Money CEO ink his face. In recorded video footage, Wayne can be seen tattooing three dots next to Tyga's eye, which represents legendary North Carolina State head coach Jimmy Valvano's famous mantra. Tyga, who chose not to explain the logo himself, was perfectly happy to let Wayne go to work on his face but lost a bit of respect along the line.
6. Soulja Boy's SODMG Tattoo
Soulja Boy sports a variety of ill-considered facial tattoos, but his most questionable choice is the SODMG acronym inked above his eyebrow. The letters stand for Stacks On Deck Money Gang -- the record label Soulja Boy founded. The 'Turn My Swag On' creator is so passionate about his imprint he wanted to share it with the world -- on his face. Next to that set of ink are Chinese characters, which reportedly translate to the name Tilly. We wouldn't be surprised if he didn't know what they meant.
5. Game's Butterfly Tattoo
In 2005, Game tattooed a small butterfly under his eye, describing it as a symbol of "new life." It was also a symbol that translated to "Please make fun of me." When the heckling became overbearing, the Compton rapper attempted to cover it with an L.A. Dodgers tattoo, explaining that he was "the face of L.A." and that it was only natural to "put L.A. on my face." After that, Game added a tasteless red star in an attempt to fully cover his butterfly.
4. Birdman's Bronald Tattoo
Yes, we know this one doesn't sit under the "face tattoos" categories, but inking your scalp comes close enough. Being a businessman who loves tattoos, it was no surprise that Bryan "Birdman" Williams chose to get the name of a lucrative business venture permanently printed on his head. Problem is that the Bronald oil-energy company -- a combination of his name with brother Ronald "Slim" Williams'-- seemed to disappear before it even really existed. To correct the oil spill, the Cash Money CEO did what any respectable businessman would do and tatted a red star right over it.
3. Rick Ross' Cazal Tattoo
After Rick Ross got called out for reportedly sporting fake Louis Vuitton sunglasses on the cover of XXL in 2009, the Miami rapper centered his fixation on vintage glasses. He loves them so much that he decided to tattoo the name of his favorite vintage brand, Cazal, right below his left eye. The Cazal logo now sits just a few inches from the Maybach Music Group tattoo previously inked on the same side of his face.
2. Yung L.A.'s Duck Tattoo
Although the Atlanta native defended his decision to ink a red duck across his face because of his affiliations with Duct Tape Entertainment, it's clear that even he thought it was a bad idea. Just over a month after getting the tattoo, Yung L.A. posted a video of himself getting the artwork covered with an L.A. Dodgers symbol. Oddly enough, its very similar to the symbol Game used to cover his butterfly face tattoo.
1. Gucci Mane's Ice Cream Tattoo
Fresh off a quick trip to a mental facility, Gucci Mane headed to Atlanta's Tenth Street Tattoo Shop to get a triple scoop of ice cream -- accented with a lightning bolt -- tatted across his right cheek. And if the decision to perma-ink a dessert treat on his grill wasn't enough, Gucci claimed it was a reminder to fans that he is "cool as ice." More specifically, "As in, 'I'm so icy, I'll make ya say Brrr." Right.