Swae Lee's 17 Tattoos & Their Meanings

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Khalif Malik Ibn Shaman Brown, known popularly by his stage name, c is an American singer, rapper, and composer. He is also a part of the hip hop duo, Rae Sremmurd alongside his brother, Slim Jxmmi. In 2017, he featured on the single, “Unforgettable” by French Montana that reached the top 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100. His single, “Sunflower” for the movie, Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse peaked at no 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and made it his first chart-topping song as a solo artist. His other hits include Formation and Sicko Mode. Swae Lee has many beautiful inks on his body. Let us take a look at what these are and the meanings behind them.

1. Wolf Tattoo

Tattoo: The inner side of his right forearm, contains a tattoo of a wolf on it. What’s special about this tattoo is that the lower body of the wolf is made out of a mosaic design to make it look intricate.

Meaning: Brown got the wolf tattoo as it is a symbol of strength and power.

2. Crown and Flower Tattoos

Tattoo: The upper part of his right forearm, a little below his elbow contains a large tattoo of a crown on it. There are a few words tattooed below the crown. The rest of his forearm contains tattoos of rose flowers and leaves along with vines that complete his right sleeve. The floral pattern reaches up to his hand and ends with another rose flower tattoo on his hand.

3. Motorcycle, Planet, Floral Design, and Rose Tattoos

Tattoo: The upper right arm is just as intriguing as the lower part. The outside of his right upper arm contains a large tattoo of a motorcycle which is on flames to give the effect of it going really fast. To the right of the motorcycle is a small tattoo of a planet. The inner side of his upper arm, just above his elbow contains a floral design tattooed on it. Above the planet is a tattoo of a Rose stick with the flower on fire.

Meaning: Swae Lee loves motorcycles and riding which is why he got this tattoo on his body. The planet next to the motorcycle is Saturn. Swae Lee loves the space and exploration and the pun behind space. This tattoo also goes well with the piece on his chest as you’ll see further. The floral design is also a sacred geometry pattern that Swae Lee liked and decided to get a tattoo of it.

4. Snake and Lamp Tattoos

Tattoo: The upper side of his left forearm follows the theme of the jungle and has two snakes tattooed on it, entangled in vines. The upper side of his left wrist contains a tattoo of the lamp.

Meaning: A snake is a symbol of healing, and rebirth which is why Swae Lee got this tattooed on his body.

5. Meteor, Sunrise, Space, and Flowers Tattoo

Tattoo: The right side of his chest, near his collar bone, contains a tattoo of a meteor coming downwards to his chest. The left side of his chest at the same place contains a tattoo of the sun rising up from behind clouds and shining all across his left frontal deltoid. His chest is darkened up like the night sky and creates a theme of space with stars and planet Saturn right in the middle of his chest. The lower part of his chest contains a tattoo of a line of purple flowers. There is also a Chinese symbol tattooed on his left shoulder inside a pattern of green clouds.

Meaning: The whole tattoo was done to cover up his old chest tattoos which he did not like that included a swan, his date of birth and a cassette with wings. This tattoo is a mashed up version of everything he loves, space, meteors, beautiful sunrise and flowers. Brown uploaded the photo on his twitter with the witty caption, “I finally fixed my chest tattoo…. needed my own space”

6. Sphere, Wolf, Galaxy, and Maze Tattoo

Tattoo: The right side of his neck contains a tattoo of a red-orange sphere. The left side of his neck contains the face of a wolf tattooed on it. There is also a pattern of diamonds in red ink behind the wolf. The front of his neck, at his throat, contains a tattoo of the whole milky way galaxy on it. The right side of his shoulder, just above his right collar bone contains a tattoo of maze design.

Meaning: The red-orange sphere is a supernova that goes well with the space theme of his chest. Brown got this tattoo of the wolf as it is a symbol of strength and power. The flower is one of many on his body as he just loves flowers.

7. Pattern, Buddha, Pineapple, and Yen Tattoo

Tattoo: The right shoulder of the singer contains a pattern tattooed on it that also covers most of his right bicep. There is also a tattoo of the face of a laughing Buddha on his bicep. The inner side of his right forearm contains a tattoo of pineapple along with an upside-down Y with two lines through it. There is also a Chinese symbol tattooed on his right shoulder.

Meaning: The laughing buddha is to bring happiness into his life and pineapple is his favorite fruit. The Y with two lines is the symbol of the Japanese Yen which symbolizes money. Most rappers get tattoos of Dollar signs but Brown wanted to stand out so he got the Japanese Yen.

8. Tribal Design Tattoo

Tattoo: All of Brown’s left shoulder and upper arm is covered in a red and black tribal design tattoo. His left shoulder also contains a small tattoo of the Chinese Yin and Yang symbol that represents the dualism of the universe.

9. Demon, Baby, Lightning, and Super Tattoo

Tattoo: The left bicep of the singer contains a tattoo of the face of a green demon. There is a small tattoo of a baby riding a dove in the sky, just below his elbow on the inner side of his left forearm. There are also tattoos of clouds along with lightning. The inner side of his left forearm also contains a pattern of blocks along with the word, “Super” tattooed on it. There is also a strange green and black design tattooed to the right of the baby.

10. Torches, Lantern. Goat, Tiger, and Flowers Tattoo

Tattoo: The middle of Brown’s stomach contains a tattoo of two torches on it crossing each other. There is a large tattoo of a fallen lantern on his stomach, just below the torches. The upper part of his stomach contains a large tattoo of the face of a Satanic Goat. The lower right side of his stomach contains a tattoo of the face of a tiger’s face getting stabbed in the throat by a dagger. The right side of his body contains another vine of flowers and the left side contains a few more Chinese characters tattooed on it. To the left of the lamp is a strange design inside a circle along with a Rose flower tattooed. To the far left of the goat are the words, “SOUL’D OUT” tattooed on his body. There is also a small, strange building tattooed near the face of the goat.

Meaning: The torches on his stomach represent the cycle of Life and Death and were held in a cross pattern to symbolize the arrival of someone important and to make way for them so Brown got them tattooed on his body. The tattoo of the goat is of the Sabbatic Goat, also called Baphomet, which is used to symbolize good and evil together. The flowers are a few of many as Swae Lee is really fond of floral patterns and has them all over his body. He got the tattoo of the words, “Soul’d out” on his body as they were one of his favorite bands.

11. Pattern, Flowers, and Stars Tattoo

Tattoo: His left elbow is covered in a tattoo of a pattern. His left forearm is filled by tattoos of flowers that complete his left sleeve. His left hand is covered in a tattoo of a spiderweb with a small flower in the middle and his right hand’s index finger contains a tattoo of a small star. His ring and pinkie fingers also contain little symbols tattooed on them.

Meaning: The flowers are just more additions to the many existing ones on his body.

12. Name, Peace, and Heart Tattoo

Tattoo: The upper side of his right hand’s index finger contains a name tattooed on it. His right ring finger contains the symbol of peace tattooed on it and his right pinkie contains a little heart tattooed on it.

13. Snake Tattoo

Tattoo: Brown’s stomach, just at the space between the torches contains a tattoo of a black, purple, and yellow snake.

Meaning: The snake is a symbol of knowledge, patience, and wisdom so the singer got this tattoo on his body.

14. Rose Tattoo

Tattoo: Most of the rappers today have face tattoos and Brown got his too but not what you would expect. The right side of his face, below his right eye, contains a tattoo of a small rose flower on it.

Meaning: Face tattoos are dreadful as they can never be concealed and therefore people do not get them. Swae Lee has many tattoos of flowers all across his body and this rose goes well with the floral theme so he decided to get a rose tattooed if he was getting a tattoo on his face.

15. Dragon Tattoo

Tattoo: The left side of his body contains a large tattoo of a dragon on it.

Meaning: The dragon is a symbol of wisdom and strength and is also said to protect the bearer which might be the reason that Swae Lee got this tattoo on his body.

16. Dreamcatcher and Peacock Tattoo

Tattoo: The back of the singer contains one of the biggest tattoos of his body. The left side of his upper back contains a tattoo of a dreamcatcher on it. The rest of his back is covered by a large tattoo of a peacock in flight with its wings spread and reaching up to his upper back and right shoulder. This tattoo is not yet complete as he still wants to get it fully colored but is scared of getting into such tough sessions.

Meaning: The dreamcatcher is a symbol of protection and is known as a talisman to protect one from bad thoughts or bad experiences. While sleeping, it is said to catch the bad dreams in its net and only lets the good ones enter your mind. They filter out nightmares and only provide good dreams to the bearer. The peacock is one of the most beautiful birds on the planet and is a symbol of royalty and nobility which is the reason Brown got it on his body. Swae Lee got this tattoo in 2019. The piece took him 6 hours to get and is his favorite piece on his body.