Kehlani’s Tattoos: A Complete Guide

Her sultry vocals, savage lyricism, her inimitable style... Kehlani is known for many things but there’s something immediately noteworthy about the Bay Area-raised R&B singer: Her tattoos.

One of the first things you notice when you stumble upon Teen Vogue's May cover star is her ink. To say Kehlani is a casual fan of tattoos would be an understatement — she's tatted up. She has them on her arms, legs, torso, neck, and, most notably, her face. Tattoos make up a great deal of Lani's personal style and they are a beautiful form of self-expression for the singer but they have not always been there.

When we first met her in 2011 as a contestant on America's Got Talent, the then-16-year-old hadn’t even gotten her first tattoo. Over the years, we’ve watched her evolve into one of the most striking new-school R&B artists, with an eclectic tattoo collection to match.

With so much ink, even hardcore Lani fans might lose track but if you're looking to brush up on the singer's most meaningful ink, we have you covered. We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to the singer’s most notable tattoos and since there is a considerable amount of ink to cover, we've decided to break it down by areas rather than pieces, giving you an exploration of Kehlani’s tats from head to toe — quite literally.

Face

Kehlani has braved what even many tattoo addicts couldn’t: The notorious face tat and she has done so gracefully. The singer's venture into face tattoos started with a queen of hearts symbol on her left temple and the phrase “Espíritu Libre” (meaning “free spirit” in Spanish) across her right one. You might think these are one of Lani's most hardcore tats, but she actually revealed were her “least painful” tattoos in an interview back in 2015.

Keeping the face tattoo trend alive, the singer later followed up with four small dots under her eyes. Perhaps one of her most recognizable pieces, Kehlani sports one small black dot under both the inner and outer corner of her eyes. Kehlani completes her face tat collection the famous paper plane under her left eye.

Neck

In 2016, the singer got ink on her neck to commemorate her “biggest heartbreak.” Speaking to Power 106, the singer explained that the ink was “therapeutic” for her and revealed that during her recovery she got “perdida y encontrada," which translates to “lost and found” in Spanish. “I think it’s a reminder if I do get lost again, I can always find myself,” she explained.

To get an idea of just what a tattoo fanatic Lani really is, the singer also admitted she got the tat on her neck and another on her face on the same day while in Germany. “I got my neck tat, my face tat, I got them the same day […] I was like ‘hey, can you do my face too?’”

The left side of Kehlani's neck is also inked, covered in a Japanese-style cloud. But that’s not all, the songstress got a large Om symbol inked on her throat with the word “fluid” in a typewriter font right underneath. The latter refers to her sexual orientation, which Lani has been very vocal about.

Arms

One of Kehlani’s most notable tattoos is the sunflower on her left shoulder. While the singer hasn’t shared the meaning behind the piece yet, she did let her fans in on the process of updating the artwork. In October 2019, she added a baby’s arm wearing a bracelet. The bracelet has her daughter's name, Adeya, engraved on it. It peeks out from the flower in black and white, with planets dangling from her fingers.

In November 2019, she linked up with Los Angeles-based tattoo artist Miryam Lumpini (who’s tatted the likes of Jhene Aiko and Swae Lee) to make the sunflower larger and more vibrant.

On the same arm, Kehlani has the text “Come As You Are” scrawled above a portrait of Lauryn Hill, taken from her The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album cover. This is not Lani’s only homage tattoo, below, on her forearm is a colorful portrait of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in a Día de los Muertos-inspired style.

Speaking to Latina in 2016, Kehlani explained her decision behind choosing to get both artists inked on her saying, “Frida inspired my personality, my strength, and my artistic side and looking at the Lauryn cover reminds me to stay focused and try to make a great album.”

Kehlani’s right arm boasts a colorful full sleeve, where vibrant peacock feathers on her upper arm give way to a bed of roses on her forearm. She has yet to disclose the meaning of either but they might very well be artistic fillers.

Hands

This body part can boast of being Kehlani's very first tattoo placement at the tender age of 16 (which we do not recommend you do) and she kicked things off strongly. For her first piece, Kehlani got the words “HAVE HOPE” inked across her knuckles on both hands. “I got them done at the park. My best friend, who I call my sister, was moving away and I said 'tatt me!'” she told the Fader in 2015, which, again, we do not recommend.

Since then, Kehlani has professionally gotten a few more finger tattoos. On the four fingers of her right hand (going from index to pinky), Kehlani has inked a peace sign, a triangle, a Mickey Mouse rendition, and a heart. Above that, on the back of the hand, the singer has an intricate paisley design.

Last year, she added to her right hand when she got matching tattoos with her friend, fellow Oakland artist Kamaiyah. The tattoo is of an illustration of a “K” and a wave between a thumb and her index finger. The gesture might feel slightly awkward now considering that Kehlani and Kamaiyah were recently embroiled in a very public fall out. In an interview with The Breakfast Club, Kehlani addressed the rift in their relationship, saying “I just had to let it go.” But, well, the tattoo will always be a reminder of a once-beautiful friendship.

On the same hand, below her little finger, Lani has the words “La Dreamer” inked, and this tat has an especially poignant meaning for the singer. “I met a little girl in a foster care placement, and I was only there for two weeks but her story stuck with me my whole life. I told her 'Yo, I'm about to get your nickname tatted,’” she told The Fader.

Moving on to her left hand, Lani has an arrow, an anchor, a Venus sign, and a number (510) tatted on her fingers. For many years the singer’s hand was dominated by a “WOKE” tat. However, on January 5, 2018, Kehlani posted a photo to Instagram showing that the piece had been covered up with a lotus flower by artist Dillon Forte. Explaining the reasoning for the cover-up, she said that she didn’t like that her "hand would speak for me before I even got a chance to open my mouth." The new lotus weaves into an existing piece on her wrist.

On her travels to Australia in August 2017, Kehlani flew in a New Zealand tattoo artist to give her a traditional Maori "Tāmoko" tattoo. She explained the piece on Instagram, writing, “the piece representing my whānau/family, 6 koru representing my 4 siblings here on earth and the 2 that have transferred into the next life. 2 mango pare/hammerhead sharks representing guidance and strength through adversity and tribulation.”

Torso

It’s widely known that Kehlani’s nickname is Lani Tsunami, which is where her fanbase gets the nickname “Tsunami Mob” from. “Tsunami is my nickname because people were calling me the wavy baby,” she let on in a 2015 interview. So, as it's only fit, Lani honored the moniker with a large “Tsunami” tat across her lower abdomen.

Further up, she has what appears to be a crab, fish, and a bull inked on her right ribs, as well as the phrase "forgive yourself" in Arabic inked across her sternum.

Back

For someone of her ink caliber, Kehlani’s back is surprisingly bare. She only has the text “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger,” inked between her shoulder blades but we have a feeling that might change soon!

Legs

In July 2016, Kehlani first shared a picture of a piece dedicated to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction on her leg. She’s got the lead characters Mia Wallace and Vincent Vega dancing inked on her inner thighs. The Oakland singer also has a longboard on her right thigh, featuring a palm tree, ocean waves, and an Oarsman inside it.

On the same leg, Kehlani has a colorful illustration of Reggie Rocket on a skateboard from the animated show Rocket Power. She decided to get the tattoo since the character resonated with her as she was growing up. “When I was younger I used to get made fun of because I was the only girl with all the guys because I would skateboard and I was super tomboy,” she revealed in an interview. “So I got that to remind myself ‘fuck what everyone else says and just be you.’ And Reggie Rocket was very much her throughout Rocket Power.” Reggie Rocket competes for space with an illustration of the classic animated character and pop figure Betty Boop on her right calf.

She then has the phrase “TODAY IS THE BEST DAY EVER” (yes, in all caps) inscribed on the backside of her left calf beside a realistic portrait of a man. To this day, Kehlani hasn’t revealed who this piece depicts. The R&B singer completes her leg art with perhaps her biggest piece: An intricate tattoo of a spider and a rose penetrated by a dagger on the front of her left calf. Her feet are still bare as of now.

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue