Top 5 rapper face tattoos

Gucci Mane went straight from the psych ward to the tattoo parlor and came away with the confusing mess you see to the right. Lots of people have suggested this is a clear indication he got out a bit too soon, but does this really seem like exceptionally, uncontrollably rash behavior? He may be in a bad way right now, but in the scheme of things, a rapper getting a face tattoo is neither without precedent nor particularly detrimental to his/her career. Below, Gucci's face-tatted peers. (You can also become a Facebook fan of Gucci Mane's Face Tattoo. -ed.) 5. Soulja Boy

The SODMG above his eyebrow stands for Stacks On Deck Money Gang, which is Soulja's label. The Chinese characters are a name: Tilly. Both fulfill the adage we just made up: If you love something, permanently memorialize it on your face.

4. The Game

It used to just be the letters. The addition of the star is, as we see it, an attempt to make it mean something other than "Dodgers' Superfan," which is the only way we could interpret it before. Either way, If he's going for "Face of West Coast Hip-Hop," he's doing it wrong.

3. Lil Wayne Dwayne Carter is famous for his tattoos, tattoos on top of tattoos, tattoos of girls he slept with once, etc. But he's kept his face more or less clear except for some tears and the words fear and God on his eyelids. Which, if it is possible to have an awesome face tattoo, that's it. But then he went and got a bunch of glow-in-the-dark stars tattooed above his left eye. They are meant to signify the ever-shining quality of his metaphorical star and/or heavy drug use. 2. Birdman

For those keeping score, that's three of five involving stars. Strictly speaking, not a face tattoo, but we feel it qualifies in the sense that this will forever prohibit anyone from taking Birdman seriously as a normal human being.

1. Gucci Mane

It's only a day old, but this is the king of face tattoos. Signifying his "cool as ice" lifestyle, the ice cream cone has long been a part of Gucci's iconography. Of course, he's also been wearing a Bart Simpson chain for years. Give him credit for an original set of symbols, but if he gets Bart tattooed on the other cheek, then we'll actually start to wonder. But for now, it actually looks kind of brilliant -- he's about to release a mixtape and, later this year, a proper album. Given the nature of celebrity, would you be shocked if his new tat leads to more people hearing his music?

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