Black-and-Gray Tattoos

Rihanna

Shutterstock.com; Instagram / @badgalriri
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In June 2012, Rihanna covered up her music notes tattoo and replaced it with a large Egyptian falcon. She shared a picture of the ink on twitter with the caption “Falcon: a light that shines in the darkness! Never close their eyes during sleep.” Bang Bang – who inked this tattoo – told US Weekly “It’s the first tattoo she wanted as a teen….She wanted it across her back back then.”

It appears as if the bird has been tattooed in a way to look like a handgun, although Rihanna could have gotten the inspiration for the tattoo from a 2,300-year-old faience falcon. The falcon is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where the tattoo artist does most of his work.

Rihanna told Oprah the meaning of her tattoo: “Back in the day, they would carve into the walls and they would carve a falcon, because they didn’t have another way of saying a king in the sky.” (more…)

Ankle Bang Bang Bird Black-and-Gray Falcon God King

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Rihanna

PacificCoastNews.com
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In January 2012, Rihanna showed off her new tattoo in a photoshoot with Terry Richardson – a bust of the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. The meaning to Rihanna is unknown, but the tattoo is private and hardly ever seen due to it’s placement. Queen Nefertiti was an icon of beauty and had many titles including Hereditary Princess; Great of Praises; Lady of Grace and Sweet of Love. (more…)

Black-and-Gray Egypt Nefertiti Side

Rihanna

Optic Photos / PacificCoastNews; Andrew Evans / PR Photos
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Rihanna got a small handgun tattooed below her right armpit in March 2009. She flew her favorite artist Bang Bang out to Los Angeles to give a tattoo to her friend as a birthday gift and decided to get one for herself at the same time. She was considering a few different designs but it was actually Bang Bang’s suggestion to get a gun. He showed her a picture of a handgun that  he thought would look good and she loved it. He’s not sure why the image resonated with her, but told Life & Style “if I had to say why she got it, it’s because she kicks ass and everybody supports her!”

Rihanna had wanted a pair of guns above both of her armpits, but Bang Bang convinced her to put one gun on her rib cage instead. He was concerned that having weapons inked in such a prominent place would detract from her face and could jeopardize her endorsement deal with CoverGirl cosmetics. The deal with CoverGirl was already strained by concerns that Rihanna’s recent reunion with her abuser Chris Brown made her a bad role model. A few day before the tattoo session, TMZ revealed that competitor Revlon was conducting surveys to see if consumers felt that she was an appropriate spokesperson.

Regardless of the reasoning, Rihanna is thankful that she changed her mind about where to put the tattoo. She always listens to Bang Bang’s advice because she trusts that he knows what’s best. In the intro to his book, she wrote:

“The thing I value most about Bang Bang is his honesty. He will never tattoo a bad idea—like EVER. That is the best thing about him—he has shut down so many of my crazy ideas. Or he’ll correct them, tweak them, and turn them into something great. Like my gun tattoo—I was sure I wanted two of them on my collarbones, but he talked me out of it and I’m so glad. Bang is invested in his art—it’s not about the money. That’s really rare and very special.”

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Black-and-Gray Gun Side

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Rumer Willis

Instagram / @ruelarue
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Rumer Willis goes to Dr Woo to get a couple dancers tattoo on her right bicep after winning the Dancing With the Stars competition in 2015.
“I got this as a reminder that what we are searching for can only be found within yourself… not from your job, how much money you make, who your dating, how many followers you have. The value and love you have for yourself can only come from within and I am so grateful to have had such an incredible experience to help me understand that.”

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Bicep Black-and-Gray Dance Dotwork Dr Woo Love Self-Love Single Needle

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Keke Palmer

Instagram / @kekepalmer
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Keke Palmer showed off a new tattoo on the back of her neck in an instagram post in June 2016.  The tattoo of Nubian pyramids and the words “Queen of Kush” represents her African ancestry as well as female empowerment. Keke explained the history of Kush on her instagram:

The Kingdom of Kush or Kush was an ancient African Nubian kingdom situated on the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile and River Atbara. (1050/1070 B.C. – 350 A.D.) but at the height of its power in about 700 B.C. the Kingdom of Kush controlled the entirety of Egypt itself with Kushite Pharaohs ruling. What I love most is it’s history’s of female rulers!! In school, we very rarely ever learn about female rules and never about African rulers. Amanirenas was one of the most famous Queens of Kush. She reigned from about 40 B.C.E. to 10 B.C.E. She is one of the most famous kandakes(means queen really but that was the title back then), because of her role leading Kushite armies against the Romans from in a war that lasted five years ? (27 BCE – 22 BCE). She was able to communicate a peace treaty that favoured the Kushites, granting them land and an exemption from future taxation. She has been described as brave, with one eye #MyAncestors P. S. “Egypt” is a Greek word meaning black, hence the rename when they invaded. ???✨? (shoutout to @threekingstattoo in Brooklyn ✍

She has been learning about the ancient history of Africa and wanted to pay tribute to the better chapters of her people’s history, since so much of African-American history is tragic. She told Hot 97:

[I’m] just trying to learn more about myself and learn about the history outside of America, my American history. I want to learn more about my ancestors over in Africa. I don’t want to always think about slavery as the only thing that happened to black folks. We actually have another history that we don’t really hear that much about where we were kings and queens. I want to hear more about that.

The tattoo is often misinterpreted since “kush” is also slang for marijuana. Keke knew this would happen and doesn’t mind because it gives her the opportunity to set people straight and teach them about the history of her people.  She says she wants it to be “a conversation piece” and hopes that people who see her on the street will ask about it.

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Black-and-Gray Feminism Heritage History Neck Pyramid Queen Three Kings Tattoo Writing