Images by Dan Ozzi
In the last two days, Drake has unveiled two new tattoos, adding to his already carefully curated collection. Like everything Drake does, his tattoos are as much calculated moves as they are opportunities for personal expression. If you think your meaningful quote tattoo needed to be a considered decision, imagine choosing a tattoo that tens of millions of people will hop on Instagram to critique! But if nothing else, Drake’s choices are always 100 percent Drake: a photorealistic portrait of Aaliyah, a “6” and a prayer hands emoji for the 6 God, the OVO owl, etc. His most recent additions are nods to two of his favorite (favourite) people, the letters “bbk” for his British pal Skepta’s grime crew Boy Better Know and a compass pointing to the East because Drake loves Scarborough, on the East Side of Toronto. Now that he’s got those out of the way, what subcultures will Drake latch onto next? What clever references will he choose to make for the fans on IG? What tats can he get that will look good when he’s shirtless at the gym? We have some theories…
Videos by VICE
Continued below…
A Juggalo Tattoo
Juggalo culture has had an ironic renaissance among hip kids over the last half-decade, but it’s still not actually cool, so it’s the perfect next scene for Drake to latch onto and make into a thing. The first sign of a true juggalo is an extremely large ICP tat, so you do the math.
Text Block of “Everything Happens So Much”
Drake already has several text tattoos—”all kinds,” “everything happens for a reason sweet thing”—so another one would always be a possibility. What better way to pay homage to a beloved corner of the internet and sum up Take Care in 140 characters or less than with a quote from the now-famous @horse_ebooks tweet.
Ghost Emoji
Drake could use a new emoji tattoo, but it has to be a cool emoji that perfectly captures the zeitgeist, like his prayer hands. Too many emojis are played out or obvious (the diamonds will have danced away before he has time to get them tatted), but the ghost works because Drake is definitely the kind of guy who “checks in” by texting “Hey [boo].”
Allen Iverson’s Number (3)
In Drake’s continued campaign to troll the shit out of Meek Mill, an AI tat would be a nice, subtle move: It’s a way to remind us that Drake still sides with the overlooked, talented, tough-talking underdogs of the world. Iverson is hip-hop’s favorite basketball player, and Drake loves hip-hop! It’s also just retro enough to be a clever reference again. And when Drake swerves from claiming vintage basketball loyalty to deciding his new thing is NASCAR, it can always double as a Dale Earnhardt tattoo. Nothing says Drake like appealing to the full spectrum of fans.
“Punk” Knuckle Tat
Hip-hop is the new punk rock! Word to Travis $cott!
His FADER Cover
Drake is the master of self-aware self-aggrandizing, and what’s a better dick-swinging move that also shows a witty sense of humor than stamping his own magazine cover on himself? It’d be a friendly reminder to the competition that he’s ready to steal whatever music is about to be cool. And, of course, the back cover is Rihanna, now placed conveniently over his heart.
Kanye’s Water Bottle Tweet
LOL, remember the good old days on Twitter? Drake does because he is cool. Shout out to @drakkardnoir.
Magic City Logo
Drake already has a Houston tattoo, and he’s gone through his phase of repping Memphis on behalf of his dad’s family. Right now he’s in his Atlanta phase, and he’s sooooo into DJ Esco. A straight-up Atlanta sports logo tat or something of that nature would be too obvious, but a tattoo of Atlanta’s most famous strip club? Peak Drake.
Instagram Notifications
One time in the studio, OB O’Brien said “everyone ‘likes’ Drake,’ and Drake’s eyes lit up with inspiration.
Ornette Coleman… and Tupac
Drake’s never been shy about pointing to his musical icons: He has a giant back tattoo of Aaliyah, for starters. But they also have to be clever icons because Drake is cooler than you. No Miles Davis or Louis Armstrong for Drake! Jazz is having a comeback, and The Boy’s free jazz phase is clearly right around the corner. Ornette Coleman is the perfect face to slap on his body with the rest of his inspirations. But just so we know Drake is real, he also has to get Tupac, who was a famous rapper, like Drake! #RIP
“Family” in Korean
We’re one international trip away from Drake deciding his real spiritual brother (his Seoul mate, if you will) is a Korean rapper. Who is Drake’s next inspiration? Keith Ape? Beenzino? Tablo? G-Dragon? It doesn’t really matter—the important thing is that Drake can recreate this Instagram in whatever the Korean version of Nobu is.
Black Flag
Drake’s tattoo artist had this tattoo, and Drake said “Gimme one of those!”
The Toronto Subway Map
Drake loves “the 6,” and it’s high time he got something to go with his lovely picture of the CN Tower. There’s no better way to put on for your home city than getting a tattoo of the subway map. In Toronto’s case, it’s a pretty pathetic map, but, hey, Drake has a sense of humour. And he travels by private jet. All subway maps look pathetic to him.
The “Why You Always Lyin” Guy
Drake loves memes!
Follow Noisey on Twitter.
