Photo: getty
Body art is full of meanings and symbolism for the individual who gets them, and tattoos have long been popular with musical artists as another way to express the unique sense of style and personality you hear through their music.
Post Malone, 25, who made Spotify's most-streamed artist of 2019 following the release of his third album "Hollywood's Bleeding," is just one of many famous rappers/singers/hip-hop artists who have chosen to cover large portions of their bodies with tattoos, with even some unidentifiable tattoos the world doesn't know of.
To date, Post Malone has at least 78 tattoos we can identify, although we suspect there are probably several more.
On June 21, 2020, Malone shared a oost on Instagram updating us all on his newly shaved his head and what appears to be the face of a skeleton emblazoned across his own skull. The photo was captioned, "I have cut my hair even shorter, also skeletons are cool. Spread your heart as much as you can. A little love goes farther than you think. Stay strong, and keep kicking ass. Love, Austin."
Then in August, Malone gave new meaning to time efficiency when he had a skeleton in metal armor tattooed on his shin while at the dentist's office for a teeth cleaning. Speaking with Jimmy Kimmel, Posty explained, “Two birds with one stone. We talked about it and we were just like, you know, ‘I’m gonna be sitting around for hours doing nothing anyway, why not get two bad things out of the way at the same time?'"
And on January 9, 2021, tattoo artist Ganga shared a post of Post getting what appears to be his most recent tattoo (which we unfortunately cannot see) on his mid-section before taking over the artist's chair to create some art work of his own.
In 2016, Malone, who got his rapper name by putting his real name — Austin Richard Post — into an online rap name generator, told GQ his tattoos are products of "spur of the moment" decisions.
"Justin Bieber was the guy that inspired me to get tattoos because we was in the studio and I was like, 'Hey, man. Does that hurt?' Because that's when I first had just met him, and he was like, 'No,'" the rapper said.
He went a bit deeper and got more vulnerable about the motivation behind his growing list of face tattoos.
“I'm a ugly-a** motherf****r,” 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.”
If you want to know which tattoos Post Malone has in personal ink collection, you've come to the right place. Here is a list of every tattoo we currently know exists on Post Malone's face and body, including pictures, meanings, and symbolism of some of our (and his) favorites.
Face Tattoos
1. Small Playboy bunny under his right eye
Many men tend to get the Playboy bunny inked on their body, often as a show of machismo, or showing their interest in the centerfolds and touting being a player themselves.
2. Smiley face under his right eye
This isn’t any ordinary smiley face; Post Malone’s tattoo smiley has X’s for eyes! In another interview with GQ, he revealed, "I was gonna do a smiley face, but I was like, 'Oh okay, what if he had X's for his eyes? And then I looked in the mirror and it's f***ing Marshmello's helmet on my face."
3. Small heart on his right cheek
The small heart on his cheek sits right below the smiley face and the Playboy bunny. A heart often symbolizes love or affection.
4. The number '77' on both sides of his nose between his eyes
Post Malone and Kyle Hediger, a tattoo artist, got matching tattoos in 2018. There’s one 7 on each side of his nose, and though the rapper has never revealed the meaning, 7 is often a good luck number.
5. Bloody hammer on the right side of his face
The hammer sits right next to the smiley face, Playboy bunny, and mini heart. Hammers are a symbol of strength and might.
6. Claymore sword on the right side of his face
Post joked that this special weapon, "dedicated to his love for medieval props... would beat out the dagger-happy obsession of 21 Savage," with whom he toured during the European leg of his tour. In an interview with GQ, he also said, “Swords are f***ing awesome and I've always been into them since a little kid. So, I figured what better to make my mom mad than getting a nice big claymore on my face."
7. Blackjack cards on the right side of his forehead
Like many other tattoos on his body, Post Malone is a fan of the game Blackjack, and got the Ace of Spades tattoo while in Montreal.
8. A massive skull tattoo on the right side of his head
Post Malone has multiple skull tattoos in various places on his body, but this skull tattoo is quite large! It takes up a huge portion of the right side of his head, and he’s even said he’s had to cut his hair shorter to see it.
9. Japanese etchings on the left side of his face
Malone had this one done by a tattoo artist in Tokyo known as Ganji. The etchings are supposed to resemble Japanese finger waves,
10. Barbed wire on his forehead
There’s no deep meaning for getting a tattoo of barbed wire across the top of his head. Joking about regretting it, he told GQ, "I don't know. I just think barbed wire is cool. And it was a cool idea to do it as a trim. I'm gonna regret it when I start balding. By then, I can updo the whole head."
11. 'Stay away' above his right eye
Malone told TMZ that he got this tattoo on his face to make his mom mad. "I kinda just wanted, I don't know, to piss off my mom," he said. "I know she's really upset but I love you so much, Mama. You're the best. I'm sorry."
Other than that, he said the words aren’t literally directed to tell people to keep their distance from him. They're simply song lyrics, adding, "I figured, how ignorant can I be and just f*****g tattooed my face, you know what I mean, and just have fun."
12. 'Always Tired' on his face
Speaking with Tim Westwood at the Wireless Festival in July 2018, Malone said, "I tried to do something that's relatively the same length of letters [under each eye]. But I guess ‘always’ is more letters than tired... but I was tired, so I didn't realize."
13. Gauntlet and flail on his right jawline
Caught on the street by one of TMZ's reporters, Post revealed that this one "hurt like a motherf****r... It's like a big spiked ball on a chain. It's pretty brutal."
14. Bloody buzzsaw on his left cheek
While there’s no symbolic meaning for buzzsaws, we have to admit that this one is pretty gnarly. His tattoo artist, Pollo, shared a video of Post Malone getting tatted.
15. A skull with devil horns on the left side of his face
This tattoo is right next to the buzzsaw, but the rapper hasn’t revealed the meaning behind this one.
16. A woman, possibly Medusa, on the left side of his head
Another tattoo that may not have any meaning, just above the skull with devil horns is a tattoo of a demonic-looking woman with her tongue sticking out. It could just be that he liked the look of this design!
17. A giant spider on the left side of his head
Right adjacent to the tattoo of the woman is a giant spider. It runs from right above his left ear all the way down to the top of his neck. Spiders symbolize growth, power, or the dark aspects of your personality.
18. A castle on the back of his head
While the rapper hasn’t yet shown the castle on his head to his fans, users on Reddit pointed out that he has this tattoo, though it can’t be seen since his hair is grown out.
Hand and Finger Tattoos
19. Barbed wire on his knuckles
Just like the barbed wire on his head, there’s no meaning given for this tattoo. He must really like barbed wire!
20-26. Portraits across seven of his fingers
Malone has portraits of seven of his favorite artists — Elvis Presley, Kurt Kobain, Dimebag Darrel, John Lennon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Harrison, and Bankroll Fresh — on seven of his fingers as inspiration. Without them, he "wouldn’t be making music right now,” Malone said.
27. Grizzly bear head on his right hand
Grizzly bears are known to be aggressive, but also symbolize strength, courage, and health.
28. Minuteman tattoo on his right forearm
Photo:YouTube
This tattoo is located right above his right elbow. Minutemen were American citizens who formed militias and trained themselves during the American Revolutionary War. They could quickly deploy to fight, which is how they got their name.
29. Anheauser-Busch logo on his left hand
Right below a tattoo of JFK on his left hand is the logo of Anheauser-Busch, an American brewing company based out of Missouri. It’s obvious that Post Malone likes beer, huh?
30. John F Kennedy, Jr. on his left hand
Feeling patriotic, Post Malone let tattoo artist Victor Modafferi ink his hand with an image of John F. Kennedy. Already inked with celebrities that he claims "inspire" him, he believed that JFK "was a guy that everyone should model their Americanism" after. Another reason for getting this tattoo is simply because Malone "loves America."
31. Skull and crossbones on his right hand
Another skull, this symbol refers to death, but is most likely inked on the rapper because he likes skulls so much.
32. 'Rest easy' spread across his fingers
Photo: YouTube
The rapper has yet to reveal if this tattoo is in memory of anyone, seeing as he has multiple tattoos of friends or celebrities. But perhaps it’s just a reminder for him to get some well-deserved sleep.
33. Saint Jude and his inner demon on his left hand
In his second interview with GQ, Malone explained that he got the tattoo of one of Jesus’ apostles revealing a skeleton beneath his robe because it “looked b****in’”
34. ‘S’ & ‘F’ tattoo on his thumb
Though we’re not entirely sure of the meaning behind this one, as the rapper has yet to talk about it, it kind of looks like a lighter.
35. Cartier Love bangle screw on his finger
The rapper is obviously a fan of the French jewelry company Cartier. He took the initiative to tattoo a screw from the iconic Cartier Love collection design on his finger, calling it "the most painful" tattoo in his life. He felt like it was "tattooing his soul."
36. Palm tattoo of 'Nevermind' from tattoo artist 'JonBoy' Valena on right hand
Post Malone most likely got this tattoo on his palm as a tribute to Kurt Cobain from the band Nirvana. “Nevermind” was the album that broke the band into the mainstream.
37. Palm tattoo of 'Whatever' on left hand
On his other hand, Valena tattooed “whatever,” which, when combined with “nevermind” pays homage to Nirvana’s song “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
38. A 'Posty Co' tattoo on the inside of his left wrist
Posty Co. is the name of Post Malone’s merchandise line, which sells clothing and accessories with the rapper’s name, albums, and references in his music.
Arm Tattoos
39. An M16 encircled by a snake
Photo: YouTube
In 2016, the rapper got this tattoo of snake wrapped around a rifle. He told GQ that this tattoo, as well as the Gadsen snake, are in support of the Second Amendment,
40. A Gadsden ‘don't tread on me’ rattlesnake on his left arm
Photo: YouTube
You’ve probably seen this snake on its recognizable yellow flag with a timber rattlesnake. The flag was used during the American Revolution.
41. Kurt Cobain portrait tattoo on his left arm
Photo: YouTube
Just like his “nevermind” and “whatever” tattoos, as well as having the late singer on his hand, this is another tribute to Cobain.
42. A samurai skull on his right inner forearm
Photo: YouTube
Post Malone referred to this tattoo as a “cool a** demon samurai skull from Ganji, from Japan.”
43. A large sword on the inside of his left underarm
In addition to the sword on his face, as well as across his collar bones, Post Malone once again shows his love of swords with this one, located under his left arm.
44. Lil Peep's face on his left arm
Photo: YouTube
Rapper Lil Peep died back in November of 2017. He and Post Malone were friends, and in honor of Lil Peep’s life, he tattooed a picture of him on his shoulder. Malone said in an interview with TMZ, “This man was going to change music forever and his music is going to live on forever."
45. Johnny Cash on his left arm
In an interview with Vice, Malone said Cash was one of his favorite country artists. He listened to country music growing up, revealing, "My love of country music came from my mom. Whenever I was a little kid, a little niño, my mom would always play country in the car."
46. Praying hands with a gun on his right arm
In interviews, Malone has said that he supports the Second Amendment. You can be religion and have guns, right?
47. A knight stabbing a person on his right forearm
Located right below the minuteman, there’s a tattoo that Post Malone describes as “a guy on a horse stabbing a guy with a spear."
48. The logo for English rock band Motorhead on his left arm
In the past, Malone has revealed that he enjoys metal music. Perhaps this is another tribute to the music and artists who inspired him.
49. Himself as a knight riding on a white horse on his right forearm
Photo: YouTube
Inspired by Steve-O, who infamously has a tattoo of his own face on his back, Malone found a picture of a knight riding a horse online and replaced the man's face with his own.
50. ‘So far, so good... so what!’ on his left forearm
This phrase is the title of the Megadeth album “So Far, So Good... So What!”
51. Stone cold skull with a gold grill with the Texas flag on his left inner forearm
Malone grew up in Texas and moved there when he was 10 years old, after his father started a job with the Dallas Cowboys.
52. A Bob Dylan portrait with harmonica on his upper left arm
Photo: YouTube
Just like many of his other tattoos, this one is a tribute to another one of his favorite musicians, Bob Dylan. "There's great hip-hop songs where they talk about life and they spit that real s***, but right now, there's not a lot of people talking about real s***. Whenever I want to cry, whenever I want to sit down and have a nice cry, I'll listen to some Bob Dylan," he said.
53. The Gallenson's Gun Shop logo on his inner left arm
Photo: YouTube
While it may look similar to the Air Jordan logo, this tattoo is for Malone’s collection of guns. He told Rolling Stone, "[Guns are] fun, they're practical, and bad s*** happens. If you hurt me, I'm gonna hurt you back."
54. A 'centurion' design on his left elbow
A centurion was a commander in the Roman army during Classical Antiquity.
55. An unfinished 'Lord of the Rings' Sauron character on his right elbow
Photo: YouTube
While it just looks like two dots, this tattoo is actually just an unfinished portrait of Sauron from "Lord of the Rings."
"He's the coolest character. Have you seen him? He's huge and he has a cool a** mace. What else do you want from a villain?" he said to GQ.
56. Playboy bunny on his left forearm
Photo: YouTube
This was actually Malone's first tattoo! "My first tattoo was this Playboy bunny right here. I was playing basketball with Justin Bieber and while it was healing, and he just messed up the whole thing. But it still looks kind of tight. It looks like magma. Justin did apologize but he's gonna have to buy me a new one," he joked.
57. One of his songs 'Patient' on the inside of his right arm
Photo: YouTube
Malone explained that he got this tattoo while filming the music video for his song “Patient” but, unfortunately, the song was never released. He said the tattoo “hurt like a motherf****r, surprisingly. I don’t know why.”
Leg Tattoos
58. Cigarette with a skeleton face in smoke with the caption ‘smoke sum’ on his right thigh
We can only assume that he got this tattoo because he smokes cigarettes and likes skulls!
59. A skull with police riot gear and a baton with ‘to serve & protect’ underneath on his left thigh
“Serve and protect” is often seen on the sides of police cars.
60. Vault Boy on his left leg
Vault Boy is a character from the video game “Fallout,” which Malone enjoys playing.
61. A skull wearing a headdress on the bottom front of his right leg
Another skull tattoo, this one appears right near his ankle.
62. Kagome Higurashi from the Japanese manga series 'Inuyasha' on his left leg
Clearly he’s a fan of the series!
63. Belle and the Beast on his left leg
Located right below his Vault Boy tattoo, Malone got a tattoo of Belle and Beast in a purple heart. What can we say? He’s probably a romantic at heart.
64. Gun above his right knee
Just like his other gun tattoos, it’s safe to assume he’s a supporter of guns.
65. Skeleton wearing armor
One of his newest tattoos, this one features a skull in metal armor.
Neck and Upper Body Tattoos
66. Black eagle tattoo on the left side of his neck
Malone has said that he loves America, and eagles are not only a symbol of freedom, but of the United States.
67. White eagle tattoo on the right side of his neck
This tattoo is symmetrical to the eagle on the left side of his neck!
68. The name of his 2016 album "Stoney" under his chin
Though it’s pretty impossible to see with his beard hair, it’s definitely a reference to his first album “Stoney.”
69. Bison skull tattoo on his throat
Perhaps his most notable tattoo, this one takes up the entirety of the front of his neck. In his second GQ interview, he said of its meaning, "There's really nothing to it. I just think it would be f***ing cool and then I do it. But people zoom in real close and they say it looks like an old man's butt. I don't see it. It's all about perspective."
70. The outline of New York state and Texas state behind both ears on his neck
Malone is from Syracuse, New York and moved to Grapevine, Texas in his youth. These tattoos are clearly tributes to where he grew up.
71. A pair of dice with an eye on the left one on his right shoulder
Though he hasn’t revealed the meaning of this ink, it might have to do with his love of video games, as, on his left shoulder, there is a Miraak mask from the video game “The Elder Scrolls V: Dragonborn,” part of the Skyrim universe.
72. Dallas Cowboys helmet under his left collarbone on his chest
This tattoo is most likely due to his dad taking a job with the Dallas Cowboys, and he grew up in the Lonestar state because of this.
73. Sword through his collar bone
Again, we know that he loves swords! This tattoo just happens to be on a bigger scale.
74. Zombie Jesus on his chest
Malone revealed this tattoo to his fans when he tweeted a photo of himself in a jacuzzi. In his interview with GQ, he explained, “I have a big Zombie Easter Jesus. Jesus is very handsome, so I figured how can we make him super metal? And so we made him Easter Jesus.”
75. Skull and crossbones on his left rib cage
Skull and crossbones can refer to danger, but he most likely got this tattoo because of his overall interest in skulls.
76. Master Shake from ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force’ under his right side rib cage
Photo:YouTube
“That tattoo actually hurt a lot, and it’s dumb because it’s a milkshake and it hurt the most,” he said.
77. Cold War slogan 'kill a commie for mommy' on his stomach
Above the skull and crossbones on his rib cage is the phrase “Kill a commie for mommy.” This was an anti-Communism slogan during the Cold War, and Johnny Ramone from the Ramones famously wore a shirt with the slogan.
78. 'Come and take them' in Greek across his stomach
As explained on Reddit, "It's Ancient Greek. 'Μολών Λαβέ' meaning 'Come and take them' as someone already said before me. It was said by Leonidas when King Xerxes demanded that the Spartans surrender their weapons. The phrase is also the emblem of the I Army Corps of Greece and the Second Infantry Division of Cyprus. P.S: I just now found out that 'Come and take it' was used in the Texas Revolution as well, so that explains why Austin has the phrase tattooed on him."
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Shavella St.Preux is an MFA student at Brooklyn College, studying creative writing. She enjoys blogging, reading, volunteering, and working on her novel.