Here’s What Rappers Looked Like Before Their Face Tattoos

Artistic expression can be displayed in a numbers of ways. For rappers, it can be through music, visuals, single and album artwork or tattoos. Plenty of your favorite rappers are literally inked up from head to toe, but this was more than likely before the fame. Rhymers like Lil Uzi Vert, 6ix9ine and Post Malone didn't always have tattoos on their faces, but if you look below, you'll find images of these hit-making rappers before and after the ink.

During an Instagram Live in March of 2019, Uzi spoke on why he got several tats he has on his face. "None of my tattoos on my face are intimidating," he said in a portion of the livestream. "I don't get tattoos on my face that look scary. I wanna look nice. Y'all want see all of 'em?" Later on, he addressed a fan who asked if he'd ever get the artwork on his face removed. "Nah, I'm never gonna delete my tats, man," the "Patek" rapper responded. "Why would I delete my tats?…Me having tats has nothing to do with who I am and what I know."

Interesting enough, Uzi got his first face tattoo, which is the word "faith," after he was kicked out of his mother's home. He got the tat right after he quit his job doing stock at a store called Bottom Dollar. Shortly after the Philadelphia rapper quit, his mom kicked him out. He added that having the inscription on his face forced him to focus on his goals, which was music, because he wouldn't be able to obtain an office job with a tattoo on his face.

6ix9ine also has countless tattoos on his face and body. The most prominent is the tat of his rap moniker. The Brooklyn rapper has a large "69" tattooed on his face, as well as the numbers on his arms and fingers. While speaking with legendary radio host Angie Martinez back in 2018, Tekashi explained the meaning the name his fans refer to him by.

After drawing a 6 on a piece of paper and asking Angie what she sees and she says both the number 6 and the number 9, Tekashi explainsed, "So, you literally just put yourself in my shoes to see what I saw. I'm poor, you're rich. We could switch it. You're rich, I'm poor. We all sit the same, we all eat the same, go to sleep, we wake up, we're still human, right? If you put yourself in my shoes and you're in your shoes, just take the time to look at it from my perspective. It doesnt mean that you're right and I'm wrong. It doesn't mean that I'm wrong and you're right." He added, "It's all perspective, the 6 and the 9."

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Post Malone broke down the meaning of his face tats during a sit-down with GQ magazine. The initial conversation with the publication took place back in 2016, prior to him getting the ink done. He did have arm tats, though. At the time, the Dallas artist mentioned wanting to get a sword tattoo on his face and years later, he did just that.

"So, I got the sword on my face," Post shared. "Swords are fucking awesome. I've always been into them since a little kid. So, I figured what better make my mom mad than this big claymore on my face." He later said the face tats make him "interesting to look to look at."

Post added, "I think it looks dope. I think I look mean. Whenever I look at the mirror, I look at  myself and it's like they're not even there. It's weird. And then, whenever I get drunk and look at it, it's like, 'Whoa, I fucking have all these tattoos all over my face."

It's worth noting that Post Malone's "Stay Away" face tattoo was inspired by Lil Peep's "Cry Baby" tat, which is on the right side of the late rhymer's face as well.

To see a how a bunch of rappers look before they inscribed their faces, take a look below.