The History of Face Tattoos, and their Place in Music Today

While face tattoos are becoming more of a commonplace within music, we are seeing more and more seemingly audacious and extreme practices of the art form every year. Often seen as a rite of passage or a commitment to a creative career, we can look at face tattoos and their ever growing presence as an accessory. However, face tattoos aren’t anything new. Throughout history, humans and their skin have always been a canvas for expression of identity. Nowadays, tattoos are not only an artistic expression and a bold display of identity, but markers indicating the future that individuals are carving out for themselves. Not being able to work an office job, because of the piece of you inscribed on your skin isn’t a negative for some; it’s a form of motivation.

Maori with traditional Ta Moko, late 1800s. Photo: Elizabeth Pulman

Historically, tattoos can be traced back thousands of years among various ancient civilizations. However unlike Post Malone, they weren’t getting ‘stay away’ inked on their foreheads to piss off their mothers. It was more often that slaves and criminals would get forcibly branded on their face to be deemed a social pariah for the rest of their life. Fortunately, ancient practices weren’t all so devastating, with evidence of Eastern civilizations using the practice within religion, often to symbolize faith or even mourning. A more modern example, yet still deeply ingrained with rich cultural meaning is the Maori face tattoo or ‘ta moko’ (facial scarring) practiced by the indigenous people of New Zealand. Of course these practices were far different to how people get tattoos today. Most methods, such as bamboo tattooing, would take a lot more time and would also be done without anyone streaming it on Instagram.

British skinhead, 1984. Photograph: Derek Ridgers

It was only until the 1900s when tattoos rose to prominence as we know them today, particularly in the West. Predated by a slow gradual growth since the first electric tattoo machine was patented in 1891 New York, we started to see tattoos as a form of self expression, rather than just among the likes of servicemen and other out-groups like prostitutes or criminals. Unsurprisingly, it was the punks and related groups who were some of the first to chose to tattoo their faces for the sole reason of social disruption. Outcasted anti-social subcultures, particularly abundant in the lower classes of the United Kingdom, were turning their feelings of societal rejection into physical representations for everyone to see.

Established photographer Derek Ridgers, who captured many portraits during this era including the one above, explained to HUMANITY magazine that the mentality these face tattoos was, “I know I’m never going to be a conventional member of the society like you, and I don’t want to be.” The visual protest wasn’t limited to the UK however, with the North American punks also embracing the anti-establishment sentiment. At this moment in time, they of course weren’t very common to see or mainstream, and consequently very shocking.

MS-13 gang member, 2016. Photo: Adam Hinton.

Across the pond in the United States, we also saw the rise in use of face tattoos amongst gang members, specifically in 1980s California. Similar to the punks, these were individuals on the fringes of society with no intention of turning back. More importantly with the gang connotation, they were making it abundantly clear with which gang they had their allegiance to. Before these gang members would even consider the face tattoos, the rest of their body would have to be inked up first, leaving them with one final frontier. A large gang affiliated number on ones forehead isn’t so crazy when they’ve got them all over their body, too. Most respectable tattoo artists will even refuse to touch someone’s face until the rest of their body is covered, with being heavily tattooed more or less being a rite of passage. So it comes as no surprise when artists such as Lil Wayne and Birdman got their face tats they’ve been getting inked for a while. (Worth noting was that some of these Cash Money tattoos were affiliated with the Bloods.) Yet Lil Wayne and Birdman were were probably both the first and most notable mainstream faces to use the look rather than have it set them back.

Mike Tyson’s infamous face tattoo, which he got in 2003. Photo: Philippe Lopez/AFP/GettyImages.

As new generations take reign, the attitudes towards certain social stigmas always change. This allowed tattoos to become very common in pop culture in the 90s and 2000s through celebrities. It wasn’t long until more regular people (or ‘locals’) even started getting tattoos. Generally, these tattoos were placed in ways that could be revealed when they wished and concealed when necessary (tramp stamps, anyone?) One celebrity who would be criminal to overlook is Mike Tyson, with his tribal face tattoo he got in 2003. The boxing legend was probably the popular figurehead for the face tattoo during the 2000s. Luckily, he was used to taking blows to the head for a living because he got a lot of heavy backlash for it, specifically from the Maori for it being derivative. Seriousness aside, Mike Tyson walked so that Gucci Mane could run about a decade later.

Gucci Mane. Photo: Jonathan Mannion.

Gucci Mane is an undeniable pioneer when it comes to the SoundCloud scene today, however, he doesn’t get much credit outside of music. His iconic ice cream face tattoo in 2011 was a massive moment in hip-hop, generating headlines like “Gucci Mane Gets New Ice Cream Face Tattoo.” The significance of the tattoo lies in the fact that he didn’t get it due to any gang affiliation, like some of his contemporaries. Instead, it was a newer concept. A quote from The Autobiography of Gucci Mane (2017) reads

“I wanted to broadcast that I didn’t give a fuck what anyone said or thought about me.”

With Gucci being such a big figure in hip-hop and it being such a big media moment, he would inevitably inspire others. For those who could pull it off, there was a new meaning behind tattooing your face.

It was after this historical three scoops of ice cream where visible face tattoos started to make their way into the mainstream, in front of worldwide audiences (I mean, even Justin Bieber got one). One of the best parts about the growing trend is that it opens up the doors for a new form of self expression, particularly amongst some of the most important people on the planet — the youth. Although having a face tattoo today may give off the impression you’re just a ‘Soundcloud rapper’ to the masses, to those who are in the know, there’s are plenty of creatives who opt to brandish ink on their faces. For example Kerwin Frost and joy_divizn are two young adults with interesting face tattoos who don’t make music. Kerwin Frost bizarrely got his pencil tattoo as his first ever tattoo, and doesn’t regret a thing, with it only adding to his Spaghetti Boys brand.

Lil Peep. Photo: Chad Batka/NYT

Looking back at the growth of the scene however, we can’t forget to mention the likes of A$AP Yams and SpaceGhostPurpp, who were before the curve in so many ways, including tattoos. Designs in the underground have always come form an eclectic range of sources, making each one so interesting. Whilst many adorn small symbols full of personal meaning, there are many that can’t go unnoticed. Lil Peep for example, with his iconic Crybaby tattoo above his eyebrow, a horseshoe in the middle of his forehead, and a bright red anarchy A on his face (amongst many others). After his passing in 2017, many friends and collaborators of Peep’s even remembered him by adorning their faces with the same tattoos, like Rozz Dyliams with the horseshoe, and Lil Tracy with the anarchy symbol. Perhaps a less tasteful face tattoo worth noting is include the Anne Frank tattoo modeled by ARNOLDISDEAD. Influencers like Toopoor and Ayleks show this trend has no gender, and underground veterans like Coldhart, $crim, and Thouxanbanfauni are also important to mention when it comes to setting the standard for what the future holds. Also, please don’t get mad at us for not noting the face tattoos of 21 Savage, XXXTENTACION, Trippie Redd, Lil Xan, Lil Pump, etc. cause we just did.

Whilst we many never see a president with face tattoos (which is a fucking shame), within creative industries the attitude towards them is definitely changing. It won’t be long until more pop friendlier acts start to follow suit. Nowadays, Drake getting a face tattoo in 2019 (something small and tasteful of course) doesn’t seem so crazy. Despite whichever big names decide to take the leap and be on the pioneering side of the times, give it a few years and the face tattoo will no longer be shocking to us. With hip-hop and the Soundcloud scene being the quickest growing and most relevant place in music right now, there is no denying that we’re pushing a culture forward and setting new standards.

With so many individuals creating new, exciting lanes for themselves that can afford face tattoos, the meaning behind them will soon change too. The countless number of names going unmentioned prove that a face tattoo in 2019 is not restricted to those ostracized from society, but rather is welcomed by those creating an entirely new one. In this sense, face tattoos have fundamentally become an accessory depending on the lifestyle you chose and the career path you take. These face tattoos are worn as a mark of commitment, creating a distinct brand which will not only follow you wherever you go, but lead you to wherever you’ll take it.

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