Juaquin James Malphurs, known popularly by his stage name Waka Flocka Flame is an American rapper. He signed with Warner Bros. records in 2009 and gave back to back hit singles, O Let’s do it, Hard in da Paint, and No pants which even peaked at no 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100. He has also appeared in movies such as Black Dynamite, Love and HipHop: Atlanta and has released many albums including Flockaveli, and Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family. Waka’s whole body is covered in fascinating tattoos. Most of his upper body is covered in tattoos with a few on his legs too. He had promised his mother never to get a tattoo on his face and has stood by it. Let us take a look at the ones he has and the meanings behind them.
1. Hit Squad Tattoo
Tattoo: Each of his fingers contain letters tattooed on them. The letters on his right hand form the word, “HITS” and the ones on his left one form “QUAD”, The words put together form the words, “Hit Squad”. His left hand’s ring finger contains two more letters above and below the A to make the word, “TAM”
Meaning: Hit Squad was the first tattoo that Waka got when he was fifteen. The TAM on his ring finger stands for Tammy Rivera, Waka’s wife, whom he adores very much.
2. South Side Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of his right-hand contains a tattoo of the word, “South” tattooed on it on a background of flames and his left one at the same place contains the word, “Side” tattooed on it in a similar fashion. There are also three little birds tattooed on each of his hands just above his knuckles.
Meaning: The words together make up, “South Side” which is the side of the town where he grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.
3. Joker Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of his left forearm, just below his elbow contains a tattoo of the face of a joker in a suit. The joker is also holding a gun in his hand.
Meaning: Waka just liked the joker design and decided to get it tattooed on his body as he loves clowns.
4. So Icey Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of his right forearm contains the words, “SO ICEY ENT” tattooed on it in blue and white ink. There is also a tattoo of another bird just above the “SO”, just below his right elbow.
Meaning: Waka got this tattoo when he first met Gucci Mane and signed with him. The label was then called, So Icey Entertainment, which was the inspiration for this tattoo. The label has since then been closed and was replaced by 1017 Records.
5. Word Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of his left wrist contains the name, “Rahleek” tattooed on it.
Meaning: This is a tribute tattoo in honor of his brother, Rahleek Malphurs who passed away.
6. Jail and Man Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of his right forearm contains a tattoo of a man looking out of a jail cell and crying. Below him is the hammer of a judge banging on a table. Below that is a tattoo of a man holding two guns and shooting bullets.
Meaning: Waka got these tattoos when he was young as this was the life that he had seen and experienced around him. He thought all of the shooting and having friends in jail was cool but now that he has matured, he knows that all of this is bad.
7. Grave Tattoo
Tattoo: The inner side of his right forearm, near his wrist, contains a tattoo of a grave on it that reads, “GOD BLESS DA DEAD” along with a cross on it.
Meaning: This tattoo is also a part of his jailed man and the shooter tattoos that he has just above this one that he got when he was young.
8. Cut Throat Tattoo
Tattoo: The front side of his neck, at his throat, contains a tattoo of a cannabis leaf with the words, “Cut Throat” tattooed on each side of the leaf. The words, “HIP HOP” are also tattooed just above this tattoo and all of his neck contains the same background of flames as the rest of his chest and body.
Meaning: Waka got this tattoo when he was going through a rough patch in his life and had no one. He says that he rarely calls people out and just gets ink on his body to say what he feels and got this tattoo as he was surrounded by cutthroats.
9. Praying Skeleton Tattoo
Tattoo: The right shoulder of the rapper is covered in a large tattoo of a skeleton, on his knees with his elbow resting on a rock and his hands joined in prayer. He is also wearing a crown on his head. The words, “Lord Save My Soul” are also tattooed above the skeleton.
Meaning: Waka got the words tattooed on his body when he first became famous as he did not know what to do with all the money he was earning and did not want to ruin himself. He got the skeleton tattoo after his battle with drugs as a sign and to motivate himself never to take drugs again.
10. Skulls and Buildings Tattoos
Tattoo: The inner side of his left upper arm and his bicep contains a tattoo of a skull along with buildings on the top its head that are burning. Below it is another skull with horns and a scary appearance. His bicep also contains a tattoo of the face of a wolf.
Meaning: Waka revealed that all these tattoos are very special to him and have a deep meaning that he would not share with anyone and would take the secret to his grave.
11. Live or Die Tattoo
Tattoo: The right upper arm of the rapper contains a tattoo of the words, “Live or Die” tattooed on it. There is another tattoo of a grave right beside this one with a few words tattooed on it.
12. Name Tattoo
Tattoo: Just below his right elbow is the name, “Debra” tattooed on his arm. The side of his forearm, below his elbow also contains a swirly design tattooed on it along with musical notes to show his love for music.
Meaning: The name, Debra is tattooed on his body to show his love for his mother, Debra Antney.
13. Quote Tattoo
Tattoo: Waka’s throat contains another quote tattooed on it that reads, “Like me or Shoot me”.
14. World Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of his left forearm, around his elbow, contains a tattoo of a small boy, carrying the globe in his hand, wearing sunglasses. There is a banner wrapped around the globe that reads, “The World is Mine”
Meaning: The small boy is Waka himself and he got this tattoo as he wanted to achieve everything that he wanted to and become world-class.
15. Quote Tattoo
Tattoo: The lower side of his right forearm contains the quote tattooed on it that reads, “We Kill Homies 2 Come Up but We Really Killing Out Race GOD BLESS US ALL”
Meaning: This tattoo also goes with the jail, the judge and the shooting man tattoos on the inner side of his right arm. While talking about the tattoo, he talked about how we kill others to make a path for our own success but in reality, we are killing humanity so that success is not well earned. We should all work together.
16. Time is Money Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper side of his left forearm contains a large tattoo of the face of a human transforming slowly into a skull that is grinning along with a watch below it. The words, “Time is Money” are tattooed just above the skull and there are orange and red flames surrounding the watch below that rise up and engulf the whole tattoo.
17. Name Tattoo
Tattoo: The outer side of his right forearm contains the name, “Mizay” tattooed on it. If you look closely, the word Ann is also tattooed just above this one.
Meaning: This is another one of his tattoos associated with a record label. Mizay is one of the record labels that he signed with.
18. Skull Tattoo
Tattoo: The lower side of his left forearm contains a tattoo of an elongated skull, wearing a hat on it. This tattoo completes his sleeve.
19. Portrait Tattoo
Tattoo: Waka has got a tattoo of a portrait of the face of a little girl on his thigh.
Meaning: Waka got this tattoo for his stepdaughter, Charlie on her birthday whom he adores very much.
20. Skulls, Star, and Money Tattoos
Tattoo: Waka’s chest is a complex art piece containing several tattoos. Right in the middle of his chest is a tattoo of a star with the letter, “P” tattooed inside it. The numbers, 10 and 90 are tattooed above the star along with the word, “piru” in red ink. On either side of the star is a tattoo of a skull. The one on his left pec contains the number, “187” tattooed inside it. There is also a bag of money right beside this one. There is a scene of buildings on the upper left part of his chest and the letters, “M”, “O” and “B” are also tattooed on his chest that together makes up the word, “MOB”. The word, “Squad” is also tattooed above the buildings on the left side of his chest with the S replaced by a dollar sign. The right side of his chest contains the letters, “HIT” tattooed on it so that both these together make another “HIT SQUAD” tattoo just like the one he has on his knuckles.
21. Name and Portraits on Stomach
Tattoo: The stomach of the rapper contains his stage name, “Waka Flocka Flame” tattooed across it. There are also two portrait tattoos on his stomach. The one on the left is of Martin Luther King Jr. and the one on the right is of Malcolm X.
Meaning: The tattoo of his own name is the only tattoo on his body that waka regrets having. His grandmother used to call him Waka so he decided to make it his stage name. The Flocka and Flame were added by Gucci Mane to his name when he met him. Waka has got the tattoos of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. on his body as they were Black Activists who have done a lot for the black community and are also Waka’s idols.
22. Quote on Stomach
Tattoo: Just above his name tattoo on his stomach is a tattoo of a quote that reads, “Loyalty over Royalty”. There is also a tattoo of a crown behind the word, “Royalty”.
Meaning: This is one of his favorite quotes and he believes in being loyal and committed to the ones you love.
23. Riverdale Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper back of the rapper is covered in a large tattoo design of the word, “Riverdale” on it. The words are tattooed in an intricate font and the background of the letters contains dark swirl patterns in contrast to the letters.
Meaning: Riverdale is the city where Waka and his family reside in now and that is the reason behind him, getting this tattoo.
24. Bob Marley Tattoo
Tattoo: The midback of the rapper is covered in one of the most amazing tattoos. The left side contains a tattoo of the face of Bob Marley and the right side, facing it is the skeleton of Bob Marley and both of them are smoking blunts that are joined in the middle with smoke coming out and covering the area in between the face and the skull of Bob Marley.
Meaning: Bob Marley is also one of the idols of Waka Flocka which is why he decided to get this creative tattoo on his back. Of all the tattoos on his body, this one is his favorite.
25. Clayton County Tattoo
Tattoo: The front side of Waka’s right leg contains the word, “CLAYTON” tattooed on it vertically and the front side of his left one contains the word, “COUNTY” tattooed on it in a similar way.
Meaning: The words together form the name, “Clayton County”. Waka Flocka is from the Clayton County area of Atlanta, Georgia so to show his love for his roots, he decided to get the name tattooed on his legs. Waka has also released a song under the same title, Clayton County.
