Credit: Lionel Deluy (photographer), Willie G. (writer)
Are you going to be the one to get the tattoo?
Because as of right now, you’re barely marked. Yeah, I mean for me, maybe on my back. I only have one tattoo now, the letter C on my arm. All my kids’ names start with C and mine does too, so that may also have something to do with it. [Laughs.] I’ve only had it for about a year. I got it on that same day I took my son in and talked art with Cartoon. I wasn’t planning on it, but my son thought it would be a good idea for me to get one too. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with [Cartoon] doing the work so I figured, Why not? I knew he’d keep it clean and do it right.
Because as of right now, you’re barely marked. Yeah, I mean for me, maybe on my back. I only have one tattoo now, the letter C on my arm. All my kids’ names start with C and mine does too, so that may also have something to do with it. [Laughs.] I’ve only had it for about a year. I got it on that same day I took my son in and talked art with Cartoon. I wasn’t planning on it, but my son thought it would be a good idea for me to get one too. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with [Cartoon] doing the work so I figured, Why not? I knew he’d keep it clean and do it right.
Why did you wait so long? Needles aren’t your thing?
Personally, it’s never been a fear or even a fashion thing. It’s always been more about disguise. Where I grew up, tattoos were just another way to get caught or for police to identify you after something went down. That always made me leery to get any done. Growing up in my L.A., you didn’t get a tattoo just to get one. It wasn’t like, “Oh, I want a dragon or a C.” You got your ’hood, your name, your set, you know—something to say who you were and what you were reppin’. Your tattoos were like your colors. I wasn’t trying to put myself out there like that. And since getting them wasn’t mandatory, I made the conscious decision to stay low-key and inconspicuous. Plus, most dudes weren’t getting them professionally done. They were something you got in the pen or in some other less than sanitary situation.
Personally, it’s never been a fear or even a fashion thing. It’s always been more about disguise. Where I grew up, tattoos were just another way to get caught or for police to identify you after something went down. That always made me leery to get any done. Growing up in my L.A., you didn’t get a tattoo just to get one. It wasn’t like, “Oh, I want a dragon or a C.” You got your ’hood, your name, your set, you know—something to say who you were and what you were reppin’. Your tattoos were like your colors. I wasn’t trying to put myself out there like that. And since getting them wasn’t mandatory, I made the conscious decision to stay low-key and inconspicuous. Plus, most dudes weren’t getting them professionally done. They were something you got in the pen or in some other less than sanitary situation.
Still, a rapper with only one tattoo is a rarity. Is there anybody in the game you think has taken their ink too far?
Nah, man, I don’t look at other ni**as like that.
Nah, man, I don’t look at other ni**as like that.
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