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Jan 19, 2024

A Guide to Post Malone's Tattoos and What They Mean

Post Malone has tattoos across his arms, legs and chest, but it's his facial art

Post Malone has tattoos across his arms, legs and chest, but it's his facial art that gets the most attention

Contributor, PEOPLE

Post Malone has been getting inked since 2015.

The rapper got his first tattoo the same year his debut single, "White Iverson," came out and he has been steadily adding more designs on his body ever since.

However, his facial ink is perhaps the most notable — especially the iconic "Always Tired" tattoo written below his eyes. In 2020, he told GQ why he covered his face in designs, saying, "I'm a ugly-ass motherf-----. 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."

The "Sunflower" singer's many tattoos range from tributes to his young daughter and portraits of music legends to recurring motifs of snakes, skulls and guns.

In 2023, Malone was denied entry to an Australian bar because of his tattoos, which was something he "never really experienced" before. "They turned me away for my tattoos," he told The West Australian of QT Perth's rooftop bar. The hotel later issued an apology.

Below, check out a comprehensive guide to Post Malone's tattoos and their meanings.

Over the years, Malone has continually inked designs onto his face. However, not every facial tattoo is always visible as some are covered by his beard or head of hair. Here are Post Malone's most notable face tattoos.

Malone paid tribute to his baby daughter by inking her initials, DDP, on the right side of his forehead in a huge gothic script. The sweet, sentimental tattoo is a way for the touring musician to keep his baby near him even when he's on the road.

"It's really tough not being able to see her, but she's coming out more often now," Malone told GQ in 2022. "I'm just happy to see her. But it is heartbreaking having to leave and not be able to be with her all the time."

A suite of blackjack cards sits near Malone's temple on the right side of his face. He got it in Montreal "for fun" because he loves playing blackjack, he told GQ in 2016.

Malone has a line of barbed wire tattooed around his hairline, although it is not always visible depending on his hair length. "I just think barbed wire is cool. I'm going to regret it when I start balding," he previously joked to GQ.

Malone's last tattoo of 2019 was a bold medieval gauntlet and flail weapon, which tattoo artist Kyle Hediger inked on the "Circles" singer's face right before his Times Square New Year's Eve performance. The gloved hand holds a spiky flail that dips below one cheekbone.

The singer let fans get up close and personal with the tattoo process when he added a bleeding buzzsaw to his cheek in 2020. He documented the process on Instagram Stories, and photographer Adam DeGross also shared the ink session on Instagram. Malone got the tattoo while visiting Kansas City on tour.

Malone's take on Medusa decorates the left side of his head and is visible only when he's rocking a shaved head.

In 2020, Malone got a buzz cut and debuted new ink: a huge skeleton head drawn across his scalp, stretching from the top of his head to one ear. "I have cut my hair even shorter, also skeletons are cool. Spread your heart as much as you can," he wrote in an Instagram post showing off the new ink. "A little love goes farther than you think. Stay strong, and keep kicking ass."

Malone's "Always Tired" cursive undereye tattoos are probably his best-known ink. The musician added them to his face tattoo collection in 2018.

"I feel like the face tattoos make me interesting to look at. What I might lack in handsomeness, I make up for in intrigue, at least," he's said. As for the placement, it was painful. "It was like getting poked on your eyeball through your eyelid," Malone told GQ.

The meaning behind the bright red heart near his left temple isn't clear, but it's a nice colorful addition to Malone's mostly black facial art.

Japanese-inspired wave designs decorate one side of Malone's head, adding a touch of artfulness to the weapons drawn across his skin. The tattoos were courtesy of artist Ganji, who inked the singer in Tokyo.

Tucked under Malone's chin is the word "Stoney," a tribute to his 2016 debut album. However, the tattoo is often covered by his beard.

One of Malone's earliest face tattoos was the words "Stay Away" written in flowing script above his right eyebrow. He shared that it was inspired by rapper Lil Peep's "Cry Baby" tattoo and is a reference to his favorite Nirvana song.

Malone has a skull with horns tatted on the lower side of his face near one ear, just below the Medusa.

While Malone has several big, bold tattoos on his face, he also has a small collection of teeny designs under his right eye: a small Playboy Bunny rabbit head, a heart, his daughter's initials and a smiley face with Xs for eyes grouped together. (The smiley tattoo, one of his first pieces, is an "accidental" Marshmello reference and was not intended to pay homage to the DJ.)

He also has a bloody hammer next to the smaller tattoos — another addition to the lineup of weapons on Malone's face.

A long sword is inked on the right side of Malone's face, starting at his temple and ending near his jaw. "Swords are f------ awesome and I've always been into them since I was a little kid," he shared with GQ. "What better [way] to make my mom mad than a big Claymore on my face?"

Malone has a teeny, tiny 7 tattooed at the top of his nose. Blink and you'll miss it!

The "Circles" singer was raised in Texas and paid homage to his home state with a faint tattoo behind his left ear.

He also shouted out his birthplace of Syracuse, New York with a small outline of the state behind his right ear.

Malone has countless designs incorporated into his arm sleeves, so it can be hard to tell what's included given they're mostly all done in black ink. Some smaller or hard-to-see tattoos on his arms include the Motorhead logo, Gallenson's Gun logo, a samurai skull and a faceless man. Here are the rapper's most prominent arm tattoos.

According to Malone, the Playboy Bunny on his arm was his first tattoo ever — and it was inspired by Justin Bieber. "We were working on Stoney, and then we had a tattoo artist come through, and I was like, 'You know what? Justin Bieber's got some tats, and I love you, but I know I'm way tougher than you,' " he shared at the time, adding that he doesn't know why he chose a bunny for his monumental first tat.

The cracked appearance of the tattoo is partially Bieber's fault: He bumped Malone while they were playing basketball just days after the rapper got inked. "He just messed up the whole thing, but it still looks kinda tight. It looks like magma," Malone shared with GQ in 2016. "Justin did apologize but he's gonna have to buy me a new one."

Malone has a detailed profile of Johnny Cash on his left shoulder.

The Grammy-nominated artist has the name of his brand, Posty Co., tattooed in all-caps inside his left wrist.

While most of Malone's tattoos are black and gray, he does have a few colorful pieces in his collection, like this smiling skull with a blue-and-red Texas flag motif. It's another nod to his Texas upbringing.

Malone has the Lord of the Rings character Sauron tattooed on his right elbow. "He's the coolest character. He's huge and he has a cool-ass mace. What else do you want from a villain?" the musician explained to GQ. However, as of 2020, the tattoo remained unfinished.

On the front of Malone's right forearm are two different tattoos: one of a Minuteman and another of a "guy on a horse stabbing a guy with a spear," the latter of which he told GQ was "pretty cool."

According to Malone, his friend Kyle grabbed inspiration from a video game and added the rapper's face to one of the characters. "I gotta add the face tattoos to my tattoo," he told GQ. "So it's like tattoo inception."

Malone has a giant set of praying hands holding a Glock pistol on one shoulder, another reference to his interest in guns.

He also has the word "Patient" tattooed in a jagged font on one bicep as a reference to a music video for his song of the same name. He told GQ that the particular placement of this design really hurt.

One of Malone's earlier tattoos includes the words "So far, So good, So what," likely a reference to a Megadeth album.

He also has the "Don't Tread on Me" snake from the Gadsden flag inked on the same arm, which Malone says is a reference to the Second Amendment.

Snakes, like skulls, are a common motif in Malone's body art. One of his first arm tattoos was a snake wrapped around a gun, another reference to Malone's fascination with firearms.

Malone is a huge Nirvana and Kurt Cobain fan. He's covered Nirvana songs and has a few tributes to Cobain and the band on his body, including "Nevermind" and "Whatever" on his palms, a portrait of Cobain on one arm and the "Stay Away" script. He has also paid tribute to other music legends like Bob Dylan and Bob Marley through tattooed portraits on his arms.

Malone has a saint lifting up his robe to reveal a skeleton drawn on the top of his left hand and up his arm. A similar design appears on the Too Young album cover.

Like the rest of his body, the rapper's hands are covered in tattoos.

A portrait of the late president appears on one hand. Malone got the tattoo in 2016 and has said he admires JFK. The Anheuser-Busch logo also flanks the portrait.

The words "REST EASY" are spelled out on Malone's knuckles, and he also has portraits of some of his favorite musical inspirations and a thick length of barbed wire incorporated into the design. The portraits include Elvis, Dimebag Darrell, John Lennon, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and George Harrison, among a few others. "Without these guys, I wouldn't be making music right now," Malone told GQ.

A roaring grizzly bear decorates the top of Malone's right hand, just above the barbed wire on his knuckles.

Blink and you'll miss it! Malone has a small Cartier Love bangle loop tattooed on his left index finger, an addition he says was one of the most painful. "It felt like I was tattooing my soul," he said.

Malone has slowly added more ink to his chest and torso over the years. While not every design has been identified, here are the singer's most notable illustrations.

Malone explained the origins of his large Jesus tattoo in a video for GQ, saying, "Jesus is very handsome so I figured, how can we make him super metal? So we made him Easter Jesus."

Just above the unique art are what appears to be a pair of eyeball dice and a sword.

Another ode to his Texas upbringing, Malone has a Dallas Cowboys football helmet emblazoned on his left clavicle. Next to it is a large mural of a four-horned figure holding a staff.

Malone has a cow skull inked on his throat and upper chest. Next to the skull are two bald eagles in flight — a light eagle on one side of his neck and a dark eagle on the other.

Malone has the animated milkshake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force tattooed on his right side and according to the singer, it was one of the most painful designs. "It's dumb because it's a milkshake and it hurt the most," he told GQ in 2020.

One of Malone's biggest body tattoos is the Greek phrase "Molon labe," which loosely translates to "Come and take them." The historical Greek reference ties into Malone's support of the Second Amendment.

More skulls! Malone has a skull and crossbones with the words "Kill a commie for mommy" tattooed near it, a reference to a Cold War saying.

Malone's body art isn't limited to his face, arms and chest. He also has tattoos on his thighs and legs — and a few of them are even in color!

He has a skull face surrounded by a puff of cigarette smoke on his outer thigh. Below the design are the words "smoke sum." He also has another skull tattoo with the phrase, "To serve and protect."

Malone has the anime character Kagome from Inuyasha inked on one calf in bright red-and-green — one of his few colorful tattoos.

Malone continues to add new tattoos to his legs, including a brightly colored ode to Disney's Beauty and the Beast with the two characters in a heart, another gun design and a huge skull wearing a feather headdress. He also has a colorful tattoo of Vault Boy, the corporate mascot of the Vault-Tec Corporation.

You'll see the Oblivion logo tattooed atop one of Malone's feet, a shout-out to the popular RPG video game series. Malone is a noted gamer so the placement makes total sense.