What Post Malone's tattoos mean as artist's body fully covered by ink
American rapper and singer Post Malone will be performing "America the Beautiful" ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The artist, who was born in New York and raised in Texas, rose to fame in 2015 after releasing his single "White Iverson". Since then, he has been nominated for 10 Grammys - with nominations including Best Rap/Sung Performance and Record of the Year for his hit song "Rockstar," Best Pop Solo Performance for "Better Now" and Album Of The Year for his sophomore album "Beerbongs & Bentleys".
But the 28-year-old is not just known for his music, as over the years he has also racked up an impressive tattoo collection estimated to feature over 70 designs. During an interview in 2020, he explained the tattoos gave him self-confidence.
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He told GQ: "It does maybe come from a place of insecurity, to where I don't like how I look, so I'm going to put something cool on there so I can look at myself and say, ‘You look cool, kid,’ and have a modicum of self-confidence, when it comes to my appearance." And despite having several tattoos including many on his face, he said he has no regrets.
Joe Burrow backs Patrick Mahomes after Kansas City Chiefs reach Super BowlHe explained: "I don't think I have any regrets tattoo-wise. It's all a time and a moment." He added: "I feel like the face tattoos make me interesting to look at, so where I might lack in handsomeness, I make up for in intrigue at least."
Post Malone's first tattoo was a Playboy bunny but since then, he has chosen many more designs including two ace-of-spades cards, his daughter's initials and a sword on his face. Here, we look at the meaning behind his tattoos and what he has said about them.
Face, head and neck tattoos
The singer decided to get a tattoo saying "Always Tired" under his eyes due to his fatigue caused by constantly touring and working. He explained: "Under my eyes, it says 'Always Tired,' 'cause I'm always tired. I figured it was just very fitting for how I felt." He explained this was the most painful tattoo, as he said: "It was like getting poked on your eyeball through your eyelid."
He also has a barbed wire on his forehead which does not have a deep meaning but he decided to get it as he thought it was "cool". The ink is just below his hairline and he admitted he might regret it when he starts balding.
The singer also admitted he got some of his face tattoos, including a hammer and a sword, to annoy his mum. He admitted: "Swords are f*****g awesome." He also has blackjack cards over the right eye, with the writing "Stay Away" underneath them. In 2022, he also got a "DDP" tattoo with the initials of his daughter's name.
On one side of his head, he has a flaming skull inked and on his left cheek, he has a buzzsaw with some blood dripping from it. And on his neck, Post Malone has a cow skull which he admitted has no special meaning. He said: "There's really nothing to it."
Chest and back tattoos
As the singer loves sword, he decided to get another on across his collarbone which looks like it is stabbing him through the neck. He also has a Dallas Cowboys football helmet as well as an eyeball dice. Over his right pec he has a zombie Jesus tattoo as he explained: "Jesus is very handsome, so I figured how can we make him super metal?"
Arm tattoos
The singer's arms are also full of tattoos - and one of them is the first one he got, featuring the Playboy bunny which he got inked while recording his 2016 album "Stoney". This one actually has an interesting history as while playing basketball with Post Malone, Justin Bieber knocked his arm, which created cracks on the tattoo.
Post Malone said: "He just messed up the whole thing, but it still looks kinda tight. It looks like magma. Justin did apologise but he's gonna have to buy me a new one." On his right bicep, Malone has a tattoo of a set of praying hands holding a gun and on his right forearm he has a tattoo of a knight on a horse as he stabs a spear in another person.
Another interesting tattoo is a saint lifting his robe to reveal a skeleton. A similar design also appears on the cover of his album "Too Young". While most of Malone's tattoos are black and grey, he does have a few colorful pieces in his collection, such as a smiling skull with a blue-and-red Texas flag motif on his arm which is a reminder of the US state where he grew up.
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Just like the rest of his body, the singer/'s hands are covered in tattoos - and one of them features former US president John F. Kennedy. He got this tattoo in 2016 saying he admires JFK. On his knuckles, he has the writing "Rest Easy" as well as portraits of his musical inspirations on his fingers - including John Lennon, Elvis, Stevie Ray Vaughn and George Harrison. He also has a grizzly bear tattooed on his right hand, just above a barbed wire on his knuckles.
Leg and foot tattoos
On his right thigh, Post has another skull coming out of cigarette smoke and captioned "smoke sum". He also has one more skull on his left thigh but this one wears police riot gear and is captioned "to serve and protect". There's also one more skull wearing a headdress on his right ankle and another one in metal armour by a table with flowers just above that.
The artist also wears some fictional characters on his legs, including Beauty and the Beast, Vault Boy from the video game "Fallout" and Kagome Higurashi from the manga series "Inuyasha". He also has a gun on his left knee and a Skyrim logo on his left foot. During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2017, he declared: "[Guns are] fun, they're practical, and bad shit happens. If you hurt me, I'm gonna hurt you back."