50 Cent Dismisses Facial Ink Hype, "To Tattoo Your Face Says There's Not A Possibility That You Can..."

50 Cent Dismisses Facial Ink Hype, "To Tattoo Your Face Says There's Not A Possibility That You Can..."
March 22, 2011
Cyrus Langhorne
SOHH.com

G-Unit leader 50 Cent has shared his input on the recent buzz behind artists like Gucci Mane and Yung LA getting facial tattoos and the negative effects associated with them.

While not singling out Gucci, 50 said face tattoos show a rapper's limits and lack of a business mentality.

"That's the craziest thing," 50 explained in an interview. "Not necessarily Gucci, but to tattoo your face says that there's not a possibility that you can actually walk into a legitimate establishment without makeup covering your face every day. That does not work. It creates a separation. It says, 'I'm an artist.' That's it. That's the statement you make when you go and tattoo your face...But know that the public will not have interest in you as an artist for life. You have to be phenomenal. Talk to the best that do it and they will tell you that it will take more than you being an artist. It takes marketing, maneuvering to generate for that long. When you got 40 year-old rappers in the game, those guys have maneuvered and survived." (VIBE)

When asked if he would follow in Gucci's footsteps, rapper Waka Flocka Flame said face tats were not in his future.

"Like I just said, eh, we some wild dudes, [laughs]" Waka told radio host Bootleg Kev when asked about Gucci Mane's ice cream face tattoo. "Ain't no telling what [we] gonna do, man. [laughs] Nah, [no Fozzy Bear on my face]. Never. I ain't touching my face." (Bootleg Kev)

Around mid-January, Gucci Mane's highly publicized ice cream face tattoo landed online.

SO ICEY! Gucci Mane hopped up out of rehab/mental facility a couple days ago. And he may need to demand a refund. Dude visited Tenth Street Tattoo in Atlanta today. And got this brand new little nugget of classiness--a big *ss ice cream cone complete with color, 3 scoops and the word "Brrr"--covering his whole right facial cheek. Wow. Tattoo artist and owner of the shop, Shane Willoughby, is the artist behind Gucci's newest tattoo addition. And the master piercer in the shop--Jason Murray--tweeted the pics. (The YBF)

After getting a pink duck tattooed on his face earlier this year, Yung LA eventually covered it.

Yung LA has covered up the tattoo of a duck on his face to the LA symbol. Atlanta rapper, Yung LA, received quite a bit of media attention for the permanent ink on his face that appeared to be a microphone-wielding bright colored duck. There has been slight confusion since LA marked his cheek because the tattoo mirrors the logo of another camp while he was already tied to Grand Hustle. Rumors have surfaced that after an altercation with DTE, the rapper was asked to remove the symbol from his face since he is not a member of the group