Musicians, who naturally have a way with words, love inking their bodies with meaningful sayings. Everyone from Ariana Grande to Chris Brown has a set of tats ranging from a few subliminal messages to an entire mural. Though, some stars aren’t as excessive as others and believe less is more. Believe it or not, rapper Nicki Minaj only has two tats. While both mean a lot to Minaj, no one forgets their first set of ink. Turns out the tattoo Nicki Minaj received at 16-years-old is more than just decoration.
The Meaning Behind The Tattoo
It’s hard to believe that a superstar like Nicki Minaj fears needles or even getting inked. The star isn’t a fan tattooing her skin, especially major body parts like a bone. Reportedly the star received her first tattoo at age 16. Originally, the rapper meant for her Chinese tat to go on the back of her neck. The rapper requested that the tattoo artist “empty the ink out of the bottle, then test the needle on the back of her neck. Though, Nicki Minaj soon realized that her pain threshold wasn’t as high as she originally thought. Instead, Nicki Minaj decided to have the tattoo printed on her left upper arm. Clearly, the tattoo still left the rapper in pain but only temporarily.
Minaj’s tattoo features a series of six Chinese hanzi characters that read as, “Shàngdì yŭ nĭ cháng zài.” For those of us that don’t know a lot of Chinese, the phrase means “God is with me always” in English. Seems like a pretty sensible tattoo for the rapper to give herself. Given all the success she’s had, we’re sure God’s on her side.
Why Nicki Minaj Tatted Herself In The First Place
It might come as a surprise to some to know that Nicki Minaj comes from a very religious background. The new mom has said on occasion that she’s a big fan of gospel music. She’s even worked with gospel singers like Tasha Cobbs Leonard on a few tracks. Additionally, the rapper’s family has major ties to the Christian Church. To this day, Minaj has remained good friends with her pastor Lydia Wooden Sloley for years. The female pastor even officiated Minaj’s marriage to Kenneth Petty. Given that the rapper has surprisingly deep roots in Christianity, it makes sense that she’d opt for a religious tattoo.
Furthermore, the religious roots aren’t the only reason Nicki Minaj opted for the tattoo. Another piece to the puzzle shows that Minaj has mixed ancestry. While many fans know that Minaj hails from the Caribbean, she’s also part Indian and more importantly, South-Asian. Her Minaj clearly acknowledged her heritage through her decision to get a religious tattoo printed in Chinese. The rapper’s morals clearly influenced her decision to get a tattoo, no matter what her parents might’ve thought. Her mother temporarily “disowned” Minaj for getting the tattoo. The rapper herself has even regretted having tattooed herself at such a young age. Minaj claimed that a 16-year-old “has no clue of what to put on their bodies”, though that wasn’t true in the rapper’s case.
It clearly the tat means a lot to her. The Chinese hanzi characters inked on her arm have more to do with her upbringing than anything else. Most 16-year-olds wouldn’t think to have anything meaningful inked on their bodies. Nicki Minaj seemed like a wise teenager.