Tramp Stamps

[Ranking Glasses]

Unless some is Samoan and has a tattoo for cultural reasons or is a merchant seaman, I can't understand why anyone would mark their bodies permanently. Alkaline is covered in tattoos and has even tattooed his eyeballs. Don't they realise it can't come off?

[Ras Berry]

Dunno what you mean?

[Ranking Glasses]

Alkaline.

[adrians wall]

Alkaline never tattooed his eyeballs, it was contacts the whole time which anyone who has ever seen a tattooed eyeball could have told you, all came out a couple of years ago.

TBH I don't understand why the whole tattooing thing is so big amongst Dancehall artists given it is expressly forbidden in the bible and lots of artists with tattoo's love to preach about other aspects of life that are also forbidden in Leviticus.

[Ranking Glasses]

Alkaline never tattooed his eyeballs, it was contacts the whole time which anyone who has ever seen a tattooed eyeball could have told you, all came out a couple of years ago.

Pardon me for breathing .

Most people pick and choose what they take from the Bible and this changes as times change. There is also the argument that Leviticus was referring to tattoos in terms of pagan rituals only but I doubt that any dancehall artist would have considered this.

The elephant in the room is that tattoos don't show up very well or at all on darker skin so they would have spent a great deal of money and time and potentially put their health at risk for nothing! (I'm allowed to say this because I'm black!)

[Ras Berry]

So... out of touch as I am, Alkaline is the name of a singer (?) (and not just a statement on his chemical makeup) and that's a picture of him? Is the zombie 'just-been-dug-up' look a thing then? What I don't really get about the picture though is what he's wearing - pants and cricketing pads?

[Ranking Glasses]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_(musician)

Apparently he turned down a place at uni to be a DJ.

[Reggaemusicstore]

TBH I don't understand why the whole tattooing thing is so big amongst Dancehall artists given it is expressly forbidden in the bible and lots of artists with tattoo's love to preach about other aspects of life that are also forbidden in Leviticus.

Tattoos are big because all the dancehall artists are more or less imitating gangsta rap hip hop artists, imho!

[Ranking Glasses]

It probably started out that way in Alkaline's case but it looks like it's turned into a case of body dysmorphia where he just doesn't know when to stop.

There was an interesting article on the news recently about tattoos which explained that the reason why they are so expensive is the cost of the tattoo artist's time & expertise and also the ink which has to be sterilised to prevent infection. Some cheaper / disreputable places are using ink which hasn't been sterilised. They compared inks in Petri dishes and it was shocking how the non-sterilised ink became over-grown with bacteria within a few hours.

I admire the artistic side of tattoos but what will happen in a few years time when the go out of fashion?

[KingSimeonSound]

..there will be a new/different fashion and most followers will start following that.

Identity and presentation of confidence are at the heart of tattoos and appeal. As with any fashion... no one says how far it will go, so some folks will just try and out do others. Turns into trying a bit too hard and as you say, in years to come, will be seen a little more as just that.

Many cultures have a long history of tattooing, often that relate to more spiritual/cultural and historical links. Some of the modern efforts are a fetishising of this, trying to trade in the 'deeper connections' without having a great deal of interest in the history or culture. Thats the time we're living in... there is a connection with Roots & Culture here, with fetishisation and imitation... it's the post modern era/error..! lol

[Ranking Glasses]

That's the point I'm making, they won't be able to change when fashions change because tattoos are permanent.
Tattoos won't give most people fulfilment in the long run.
If I got a tattoo instead of being a boring old fart, I'd be a boring old fart with a tattoo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Him6MNpFUlk

[KingSimeonSound]

Not sure anyone is doing anything much for "the long run". Get things while you can, hype something for today to make the most out of it. Records released, two months later they are selling for £40 +.

Just the way it is nowadays, a next generation doing it differently. Not a lot of time generally invested in music productions, as long as it is a familiar samples/sounds and it is pushed & mastered beyond clipping enough to be 'LOUD', it's all good. Much better to invest efforts into hyping something than making a better product. Having a tatoo is just trading in the currency that goes at the time. For many, better to have, than not. So it go.

[edgar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz7Cn3pHibo

[Reggaemusicstore]

I can only observe what I've seen in England over the years but I recall tattoos only became popular in the late 80s, maybe during the acid house/rave era. Before that it was the old cliche of the only people who had them were thugs, criminals and some of the military. I don't recall ever seeing women having them and they were very much associated with a display of aggression/being tough in my eyes. I was very surprised when I started to see raver kids sporting more artistic ones on their arms etc....

[jah_vaults]

Alkaline never tattooed his eyeballs, it was contacts the whole time which anyone who has ever seen a tattooed eyeball could have told you, all came out a couple of years ago.

Pardon me for breathing .

Most people pick and choose what they take from the Bible and this changes as times change. There is also the argument that Leviticus was referring to tattoos in terms of pagan rituals only but I doubt that any dancehall artist would have considered this.

The elephant in the room is that tattoos don't show up very well or at all on darker skin so they would have spent a great deal of money and time and potentially put their health at risk for nothing! (I'm allowed to say this because I'm black!)

Good point about the pagan rituals.

Is also in a way like a gambling addict just want more and more .

Some are not satisfied.