Tyrone William Griffin Jr., popularly known by his stage name, Ty Dolla Sign is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He started his career writing and producing for Def Jam Recordings and released his debut album, “Free TC” in 2015 after signing with Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang Records. Ty has released many songs since then and has collaborated with many artists.
Ty is also a huge fan of getting tattooed and has tattoos all over his body. Let us take a look at his inks and the meanings behind them.
1. Portrait Tattoo
Tattoo: The entire right arm of the singer is covered with many tattoos of portraits. Starting from his shoulder, all the way up to his sleeve, his arm has portraits that are joined together by a backdrop of clouds.
Besides the portraits, he also has the names of his mother, Phyllis Joy, his daughter, Jailynn Crystal Joy, his cousin, Raynelle Joy, and his sister, Angelique Crystal Joy tattooed on his arm.
Meaning: The tattoos of the portraits on his arm is the most important piece of ink on his body. The portraits on his arm are of his family members, his grandparents, his parents, Tyrone Griffin Sr. and Phyllis Joy, his brother, Big TC, and his daughter, Jailynn. All the female members of his family have joy in their names which he says brings joy to the whole family.
2. ‘Jesus’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Ty’s right hand has a tattoo of the face of Jesus Christ on it.
Meaning: The tattoo represents his religious views and acts as a protector for his family members.
3. Finger Tattoo
Tattoo: Ty’s right hand’s fingers also have letters tattooed on them that spell out the words, “Free TC”
Meaning: The tattoo on his fingers represents the name of his first album, “Free TC” which was actually inspired by his brother. Ty says that the inspiration came from his brother TC, who is in jail for a crime he did not commit.
4. Hand Tattoo
Tattoo: The left hand of the rapper has a dollar sign tattooed on it. The letters forming the word, “FAST” are also tattooed on his left hand’s fingers.
Meaning: The tattoo of the dollar sign on his hand represents his name. It is one of his earliest tattoos and he drew it himself. The word, “FAST” is a matching tattoo that he and his crew members have got because they all are fast and do everything fast.
5. ‘LA’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The inside of his left forearm has a tattoo of the letters, “LA” tattooed on it. A few buildings and a palm tree can also be seen behind the letters.
Meaning: The tattoo represents the hometown of the rapper. Ty was born on the South Side of Los Angeles, California. The tattoo was done by Ty’s friend who is now not in this world. While talking about the tattoo, Ty revealed that the palm tree on his forearm is a weed palm tree that has a pot plant at the top.
6. ‘Pitbull’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Right next to the letters for his hometown, Ty has got a tattoo of a man with the head of a pit bull on his forearm.
Meaning: The pitbull is a representation of Ty himself when he was younger.
7. ‘Pushaz’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The side of his left forearm has the words, “PUSHAZ INK” tattooed on it where the “S” is replaced by a dollar sign.
Meaning: The words on his arm, Pushaz Ink represent the name of the record label found by YG, DJ Mustard, and Ty together.
8. ‘Pot and Letters’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The left bicep of the singer has a pot plant tattooed on it along with the letters, “TY” tattooed next to it.
Meaning: The letters go along with the dollar sign on his arm to represent his name.
9. ‘Dollar’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is another graffiti-style dollar sign tattooed on his left upper arm.
Meaning: The tattoo along with the letters, “TY” represent the short form of his name, TY $, for Ty Dolla Sign.
10. Picture Tattoo
Tattoo: Ty’s left shoulder has another tattoo of a picture on it. The tattoo was done with a picture of his brother behind the fence.
Meaning: The tattoo represents his brother’s time in jail. Ty’s brother Big TC is currently in jail. Ty also has a tattoo on his hand, “Free TC”.
11. ‘PMA’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The letters, “PMA” are tattooed on the side of his neck, below his right ear.
Meaning: The letters on his neck is a motivational tattoo and stand for the words, “Positive Mind Attitude”
12. ‘Dolla Sign’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The front of his neck has a tattoo of his name, “DOLLA SIGN” tattooed on it where the “S” is replaced by a $.
Meaning: Ty got this tattoo so that people would recognize him for who he is and not mistake him for other rappers. He said people see his name on his neck and immediately know who he is.
13. ‘Angel’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The entire back of the singer is covered in a large tattoo design of an angel on it. The middle of his back has the tattoo of the angel with wings and his upper back is covered with rays of light coming from behind the angel’s head.
Meaning: The tattoo of the angel on his back represents a guardian angel and protects himself and his family from harm.
14. ‘Griffin’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The front of his body has the largest tattoo piece that Ty has got. His chest has a large griffin tattooed across it that is seen sitting on top of a large pedestal that is adorned with gems, skulls, and bones.
Meaning: Ty explained his tattoo that people accuse him of being a devil worshipper but instead the tattoo on his chest is of the mythical Griffin. Ty got this tattoo as his real name is Griffin and the creatures are protectors of temples. Ty regards his body as his temple so the griffin tattoo acts as his protector.
15. ‘Idols’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The left lower leg of the singer has more portraits tattooed on it but this time they are of his favorite artists and his idols.
Meaning: The tattoos on his leg are a tribute to all his favorite artists who made him fall in love with music. His leg has the faces of many famous artists such as Bob Marley, Elvis, Michael Jackson, and many more.
16. Design Tattoo
Tattoo: Right in the middle of the portraits of the artists is a heart-shaped design tattooed on his left leg.
17. ‘Griffin’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is another griffin tattooed on the side of his right leg. This one is the proper representation of a griffin from mythology having the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle’s talons as its front feet.
Meaning: This griffin, just like the one on his chest represents protection for Ty.
18. ‘Skull’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a large skull tattooed on Ty’s right leg, covering his kneecap. The inside of his right leg has a tattoo as well that is of another mythical creature with a feathered back, sitting on top of a plinth.
Ty loves getting tattoos on his body and he plans to cover all of his body with tattoos, except his butt and his face. He said that the left side of his head also has a tattoo for his crew but it has not been seen yet. He plans to get a tattoo of the Bad Brains logo on the left side of his body as he is a huge fan of the rock band.
