Thursday, May 24, 2007
Tattoos & Hip-Hop: The Genre's New Trend
The Alliance's song "Tattoo (Tatted Up)" featured DHL's Fabo is like two fingers jammed in my throat. It is the worst of the worst when it comes to the current wave of popularity for inked skin. Not only does the general sound of the song fail to appeal, but the idea that it might inspire loads of youths to rush into tattoo shops bothers me. Pushing tattooing as fashion leads to mistakes (word to The Game), upset parents and wealthy dermatologists. (www.ballerstatus.com/blog/7/87/)
Now, I am not opposed to tattooing. To some extent my livelihood revolves around the art, and this past weekend I served as a judge at the New York City Tattoo Convention. It was my first time working the competitions, and it reinforced one key to all good tattooing -- time. Regardless of the tattoos scale and relative ambition, it is important not to hurry a piece. It was quite common for competitors to mention having spent 100 or more hours in the chair. When some did brag about the speed a sleeve was finished, my fellow judges were quick to warn against rushing. A little research goes a long way, and finding an artist you feel comfortable with is extremely important. Even if a simple Roman numeral tattoo or area code piece is what you are looking for, having a basic understanding of the many styles available to you will best prepare you to get a tattoo that will really pop and represent who you are. So to simplify: I fully encourage getting tattooed, just be patient, take your time and remember, its going to be on you forever, so save up a little cash to make sure it gets done right. Oh, and follow the general guidelines for after care, it is worth it in the long run.
I am not fully clear on the history of tattooing in hip-hop. A few people have suggested that Pac is responsible for raising awareness of tattooing in some respects, and clearly the long and complicated story of tattooing in the prison systems also has some relation to tattooing in hip-hop culture. For the moment, I will leave it at that, and briefly discuss the one popular style.
In hip-hop's inner circles the black and grey work has not only been favored, but has grown to represent a certain level of success in the industry. Growing out of Chicano styles, black and grey tattooing was incorporated into the professional ranks by the likes of Jack Rudy and has achieved ultimately popularity and a stamp on the public consciousness through the work of Mr. Cartoon [Please note that this is a gross reduction of tattoo history, but for the moment I am content to gloss over and provide basic facts... learn more here]. Cartoon has tattooed most of the big dawgs in the trade, most famously 50 Cent, Eminem and members of his own extended Soul Assassins Family. His work has extended from bodies onto other products fixed in hip-hop culture, air force 1s and the sidekick, extending the scope of tattoo art. Aside from that, as mentioned above, a visit to Cartoon can also symbolize success, and good tattoos are becoming signifiers just as a fine watch or iced out pendant relays being caked up.
Paul Wall is one guy that comes to mind as entering the game with pretty much unmarked skin, and then suddenly he as covered as the rest of his Expensive Taste Family. Lloyd Banks has also built an impressive collection during his career, and his appearance on "Miami Ink" was interesting not just to hear him discuss his goals for his tattoo (and given the time constraints, Chris Garver delivered), but also as a marketing tool for the Rotten Apple album. The use of tattoo as promotional device seems pretty unique to hip-hop. Well beyond repping where you're from, building brand awareness through tattooing is a bold move. From G-Unit (much was made about Prodigy's hand tat) to Paul's Stars and Straps tattoos, rappers have taken, flipped and personalized commercial endeavors. This trend does not always produce the best tattoos, but it does link directly to one of the most basic purposes of tattooing: expression of group affiliation. At this level, I find the fashion for logo tattoos fascinating.
Obviously, there are a great number of rappers with a significant amount of ink, both good and bad. DMX's tattoos are as much a part of his persona and his trade mark bark. C-Murder and other members of the Miller family have also long used tattoos to express their group identities. To list every tattooed figure in hip-hop would be ridiculous, so as a matter of subjective taste, my favorite tattoos in hip-hop are as follows:
- Method Man's Life/Death piece. Yeah, a lot of people have this, but it my mind it is his and everyone else is a biter.
- Gipp's arm pieces, done by Cartoon, are simply amazing to me.
- Also by Cartoon, Eminem's tribute to his uncle Ronnie is dope. So personal and the articulation of the cityscape is crazy.
- Pharrell's tattoos are ill.
- Pac's Thug Life tattoo is a hip-hop classic.
- I have always liked Aesop Rock's arm tattoos, based on his own song lyrics.
source:
Now, I am not opposed to tattooing. To some extent my livelihood revolves around the art, and this past weekend I served as a judge at the New York City Tattoo Convention. It was my first time working the competitions, and it reinforced one key to all good tattooing -- time. Regardless of the tattoos scale and relative ambition, it is important not to hurry a piece. It was quite common for competitors to mention having spent 100 or more hours in the chair. When some did brag about the speed a sleeve was finished, my fellow judges were quick to warn against rushing. A little research goes a long way, and finding an artist you feel comfortable with is extremely important. Even if a simple Roman numeral tattoo or area code piece is what you are looking for, having a basic understanding of the many styles available to you will best prepare you to get a tattoo that will really pop and represent who you are. So to simplify: I fully encourage getting tattooed, just be patient, take your time and remember, its going to be on you forever, so save up a little cash to make sure it gets done right. Oh, and follow the general guidelines for after care, it is worth it in the long run.
I am not fully clear on the history of tattooing in hip-hop. A few people have suggested that Pac is responsible for raising awareness of tattooing in some respects, and clearly the long and complicated story of tattooing in the prison systems also has some relation to tattooing in hip-hop culture. For the moment, I will leave it at that, and briefly discuss the one popular style.
In hip-hop's inner circles the black and grey work has not only been favored, but has grown to represent a certain level of success in the industry. Growing out of Chicano styles, black and grey tattooing was incorporated into the professional ranks by the likes of Jack Rudy and has achieved ultimately popularity and a stamp on the public consciousness through the work of Mr. Cartoon [Please note that this is a gross reduction of tattoo history, but for the moment I am content to gloss over and provide basic facts... learn more here]. Cartoon has tattooed most of the big dawgs in the trade, most famously 50 Cent, Eminem and members of his own extended Soul Assassins Family. His work has extended from bodies onto other products fixed in hip-hop culture, air force 1s and the sidekick, extending the scope of tattoo art. Aside from that, as mentioned above, a visit to Cartoon can also symbolize success, and good tattoos are becoming signifiers just as a fine watch or iced out pendant relays being caked up.
Paul Wall is one guy that comes to mind as entering the game with pretty much unmarked skin, and then suddenly he as covered as the rest of his Expensive Taste Family. Lloyd Banks has also built an impressive collection during his career, and his appearance on "Miami Ink" was interesting not just to hear him discuss his goals for his tattoo (and given the time constraints, Chris Garver delivered), but also as a marketing tool for the Rotten Apple album. The use of tattoo as promotional device seems pretty unique to hip-hop. Well beyond repping where you're from, building brand awareness through tattooing is a bold move. From G-Unit (much was made about Prodigy's hand tat) to Paul's Stars and Straps tattoos, rappers have taken, flipped and personalized commercial endeavors. This trend does not always produce the best tattoos, but it does link directly to one of the most basic purposes of tattooing: expression of group affiliation. At this level, I find the fashion for logo tattoos fascinating.
Obviously, there are a great number of rappers with a significant amount of ink, both good and bad. DMX's tattoos are as much a part of his persona and his trade mark bark. C-Murder and other members of the Miller family have also long used tattoos to express their group identities. To list every tattooed figure in hip-hop would be ridiculous, so as a matter of subjective taste, my favorite tattoos in hip-hop are as follows:
- Method Man's Life/Death piece. Yeah, a lot of people have this, but it my mind it is his and everyone else is a biter.
- Gipp's arm pieces, done by Cartoon, are simply amazing to me.
- Also by Cartoon, Eminem's tribute to his uncle Ronnie is dope. So personal and the articulation of the cityscape is crazy.
- Pharrell's tattoos are ill.
- Pac's Thug Life tattoo is a hip-hop classic.
- I have always liked Aesop Rock's arm tattoos, based on his own song lyrics.
source:
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