Since Smith’s resume boasts a job of drawing caricatures at Busch Gardens, there’s no doubt that if a quirky, cartoonish tattoo goes in front of the judges, it came from his hand. Not just an illustrator, Smith prides himself on being able to construct his own homemade tattoo machines.

“The less free skin I have left, the more analytical I’m getting about tattoos.”

Drawing from literary heavyweights like Edgar Allan Poe, the Grimm Brothers, and Dante, The Inked Magazine Music Tour headliner, Alesana, creates an awesomely dark experience.

After getting a really bad tattoo, Givens decided to give tattooing a try. He turned a negative into a positive and created a new life’s work. He is always grinning, considers himself an “eternal optimist,” and hopes that his new-school Japanese tattoos and winning smile will take him to the top.

Future’s career in hip-hop is about as long as his history with ink. While getting his feet wet in the rap game during the mid-’00s, the Atlanta native sharpened his lyrical tongue under the guidance of Dungeon Family members, including Goodie Mob’s Khujo, Big Rube, and his cousin Rico Wade.