http://www.urbanink.com Latest Articles from Urbanink. en-us Wed, 22 May 2013 21:05:16 GMT San Diego, California's Westley Williams is a Jack-of-all-trades. He is an up-and-coming rapper, an aspiring actor and a football player. Ever since West got a taste for ink he's dedicated the rest of his life and his body to the popular body art.

Across his chest he proudly wears the words "WEST COAST" which serve as both rap moniker and reps for his beloved home state of California. He also sports two stars on his forearms to showcase his penchant for acting and all things Hollywood. West tops off his tat collection with Asian symbols on his shoulders, but still plans to add more ink in the near future.

Currently, West is in beginning to work on his own reality TV show titled "West Coast Love." Make sure you keep an eye out for that.


Photography by Angela Williams
]]> http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=552 http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=552 Fri, 03 May 2013 11:53:19 GMT This tattooed vixen of Suriname and Dutch descent is Sabina Flower. Born and raised in the Netherlands - Amsterdam, to be more specific - Sabina discovered her lust for tattoos after going through a life-altering experience. "My passion for body art began when I lost a lot of weight and saw that my tattoos became pieces of art on my body," Sabina shared.

Keeping busy running her own nail salon, Sabina recently began drawing tattoo designs in her spare time. "My teacher and tattoo artist, Mr. El-Falco, gave me the inspiration and the strength to become an upcoming artist in this industry," the budding ink slinger tells us.

Sabina is not only studying up on the art; she has also sought out help from Emillion Irons, who has taught her all there is to know about tattoo machines and even gave her a custom-made tattoo machine that she uses to tattoo. She stated that her dream and passion is to learn more about tattooing, in hopes of one day opening up her own shop in the United States.

When she's not drawing up sketches or running her business, you can find Sabina in a photo studio posing for cameras. A photographer took one look at her one warm summer day as she was walking around her neighborhood and became entranced by the body art Sabina wore boldly on her torso. After one photo shoot, the phone calls from companies and modeling agencies began rolling. Currently, her unique look is capturing eyes all across the Netherlands, and soon she hopes to take the States by storm.

For more on Sabina, follow her on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/Sabina_Flower.


Photography by Robert Fotografeert
Article by Dez Ward
]]> http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=548 http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=548 Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:36:56 GMT Student and college radio host, Joshua Baker was born in Washington, DC and raised in Maryland. At an early age he was involved in many sports, being an only child it was always easy to interact with different people. Transitioning to his high school years where life started setting into place: experiences, relationships, friends, and even family issues. "At the age of 16, I wanted my first tattoo and of course my mother said 'No' without hesitation," Baker recalls of his first inclination with ink.

After urging his mother that his head was in the right place, and that his ink would tell the story of his life, she was finally convinced and agreed to let him get his first tat. After the first tattoo, Baker became addicted to ink and felt as though had to continue telling the stories of his life on his body.

Baker has several tattoos on his left arm, which is almost a complete sleeve. "I have praying hands with rosary beads based on my religion. As a young boy, I grew up in the church attending Sunday school weekly," he tells us.

Under the praying hands Baker has a scripture that he holds close to his heart Philippians 4:13, which reads, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." A scripture that his mother recited to encourage Baker, letting him know that despite failure, he can get back up because God lives inside of him. "This scripture has got me through a lot of tough times in my 21 years of age," he stated.

Right under the scripture Baker has a nautical star, which to him represents guidance in life. When asked about the two doves flying around in the sky, through clouds with sunrays and lightning bolts coming from the clouds, he said, "The reasoning behind that is that in life you overcome the storm to get through to the good. I have overcome plenty of thunderstorms in my life, and I always got through it to a better situation, and that's the purpose of the sun in the piece."

One piece that Baker has symbolizes specific moments in his life that he had to endure. He has claw marks with red ink in between, which he says symbolizes pain. "I have been scarred plenty of times - mentally and physically. Mentally in school, females that I've messed around with, and even some family members have been a part of that, but it has yet to bring me completely to the ground. As for my physical scars, back in 2011, some dudes at the college I attended jumped me. The only marks I had on my body after the altercation were scratches on my arm, so why not get some ink work that relates to that?" he expressed.

Baker has since transferred to a different university and today attends Towson University where he is pursing a Bachelors of Art in Business Marketing. While at Towson U., he has become involved in several activities, one of which he holds close to his heart, the school radio station, XTSR. "I share a segment with my co-host Jasmine and our show is called the "LesBake Radio Show." With the radio show he and his co-host play music, discuss topics their listeners are dealing with, and interview celebrities. Baker hopes to make a long-lasting career out of radio.

Follow Josh on Instagram: @Buzybaker


Photography by Xavier Omauri Randall (www.Facebook.com/Xavier.o.randall)
Article by Dez Ward
]]> http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=544 http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=544 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:51:41 GMT Musician and tattoo enthusiast, A.K. was born and raised in South Carolina, where the addiction with tattooing began at the age of 16. Growing up watching with a sister that continuously got tattoos, A.K. was fascinated by them. "My sister promised me that she'd take me to get my first tat on my 18th birthday. I haven't stopped since," explained A.K.

By the age of 25, A.K. had over 20 tattoos. "I can't really count them anymore now that I have sleeves. Out of all of my tattoos, I would have to say my right sleeve is my favorite because music is a passion of mine," A.K. shared. "What I love about my ink work is that every tattoo has a meaning or a story behind it. I never get a tattoo just because."

facebook.com/akface


Photography by Finesse Entertainment (facebook.com/finesseent2010)
Article by Dez Ward
]]> http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=538 http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=538 Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:20:36 GMT In a male-dominated genre that's flooded with hip-hop hopefuls, it's rare to catch wind of a female emcee that's making noise and creating a brand for herself while she's at it. Lincoln Heights, CA, native Doll-E Girl is one of those few fiery women who's decided to enter the arena with the big boys and show them what she can do with her lyrical prowess and creativity. Having established a loyal following early in her career by dropping several music projects, she hopes to break into the mainstream so the world can hear her story.

URBAN INK: What was your first tattoo and at what age did you get it?
Doll-E Girl: My first tattoo had three dots. I don't remember how old I was. It was just like the thing to do. It was everybody's first tattoo in my circle. I got the three dots when I was young; you're crazy, you're loco, you know?

Can you give us a rundown of the ink on your left arm?
My dad passed away, so in memory of him, I got his last name in a rose. The rose actually used to be closed. That's just how I felt for awhile. But after time went by, I healed from the loss of my father and I opened it up a little bit. I'm a Cadillac girl, so I also got the Cadillac Sylvester "C," and I put the "D" for Dolly in it. I also got a 1962 Cadillac Coupe Deville I'm working on. That's my baby right there. I cherish my car, so I have that. I had gone to Japan and I got "Karma," but they use Kanji letters and their Kanjis are all words. I got my "Roller's Only" blasted on my arm. That's my car club; I've been a full member now for like three or four years. I have so much history with them. I knew that's where I belonged. Then on my knuckles I got "love," but I did a little twist on it.  I put a heart upside down because I can love you today but I won't love you tomorrow.

That's clever, I like that.
I had to flip it on that one. Then I have the "LA." LA, that's my blood, that's where I was born and raised. The last one I have is my mother. I have her portrait on me. When I got that done, I didn't tell her about it. I just got that done and I told her, "You will always be with me wherever you go," and I showed her. She was like, "Oh, my God!" It's so funny because now, when she's with her friends, she's like "Oh, look, look take off your shirt. Show them what you did." She's really cool with the whole thing now.

Which tattoo artist did you work with?
My homie, Bear, he's the one that's been doing all my tattoos. He travels from a lot of tattoo shops. He used to work in East LA on Cesar Chavez Ave., City of Angels Tattoo. He's done all my artwork and he's also going to be the one to finish up my sleeve. He's really cool and he's always showed me love since day one.

What motivated your interest to become an artist?
Two guys named J-Smooth and the homie, Mystic 1, were working on a demo. And they said they needed a girl to get on the verse. He gave me the beat; I took it home and sat on it for about a week. Then, one day, I was like, "I'm going to see what this is now." It wasn't the best and I still have it. I got that very first one and it sounds terrible. We did a little demo, and they passed it out. I was really fortunate to be able to play it for my father. He didn't understand what I was saying but just the fact that he heard me on a CD just drove him crazy because my dad was really big in the Mexican Community as far as celebrities. He would always take me to talent shows, you know. A couple of months after his passing this guy named Johnny U hit up one of my homeboys and said, "Hey, what's up with this girl?" I met with him at a TGIFs and I sat there with him. He was just like, "I want to put out a record of you." I'm like, "I'm not a rapper, what are you talking about? I don't rap. That just a little something I did." He said, "It's your voice, it's something about your voice." So I was like, "Nah, you can do it." So then he pulls out a checkbook and writes me a check for $2500. I was like, "You got your album, don't even trip. Let's do it, let's get to work." You feel me?

All the way.
Yeah, so he put me to work with this producer named LA Hit Man. I recorded my first album, Tell Me You Still Love Me. I had a song called, "Trust No Bitch," and that song to this day has been like my actual hit. Then I dropped an album with an older label. It was produced by Fingaz. It did pretty good. It had a single called, "Do It Daddy," that was on the radio with Baby Bash. It did really well for the bottom years. My song was on top five. Then I came to a point after that single where I just didn't know who to work with because, when you're in the industry, you have to watch out--you don't know who your friends are. Sure enough, I hit that wall. For two years, I didn't put out anything. I was blessed to still be getting shows. I went to Japan twice without putting out an album. I was really blessed to be able to do that. I said fine, you know what, I got to get back into the studio. Me and my boy, Cricket, we'd been recording this last album I put out. We finally fixed it and put it together last year. It's out right now; it's called Unleashed.

You're nude on your last album cover. A step away from the hard street look that your fans have grown accustomed to. Can you elaborate on that?
I had to do something different. "I'm like okay, I'm going to wear a spaghetti strap." I still got the big pants. Then, on my next one, we did the whole Bonnie & Clyde outfit. So that was pretty cool. Then, after that, I showed people how I am. Just me, so I was like this with my Dickies. I had an LA shirt on. You can still tell I've grown up, because of a nice sex pose. So you see my feminine side. Yeah, I'm a girl, just because I like to dress like a tomboy does not mean I go that way. I do get hit up a lot. People ask me, "Do you go both ways, you like girls or what?" No, I love men.

What's your ultimate career goal in music?
I really do have my heart in this game right now, and I want to take it as far as I can.


Photography and article by Jorge Peniche
]]> http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=529 http://www.urbanink.com/view-article.php?article_id=529 Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:00:34 GMT