Himra’s tattoos are visible across his hands, neck and arms, and they’re part of the image he brings to portraits and performances. Photos show dense black-and-grey work alongside his dreadlocks, chains and sharp styling; they don’t explain the meaning of every design.

Himra, whose real name is Abdul Rahim Souleymane Bakayoko, came out of Côte d’Ivoire’s rap scene with a sound shaped by American drill and rooted in Abidjan. The pictures catch his tattoos from different angles, including close views of his hands and wider shots of his arms, neck and chest.

Himra’s visible hand and forearm tattoos

The clearest hand view is a black-and-white portrait with Himra’s fingers crossed in front of his face. Dark shapes and lettering cover the backs of his hands and run across his fingers, packed close together.

Rings, a watch and chains frame the pose, but the ink still holds the eye: the tattooed hands are part of the picture, not just in the background. Hand tattoos stay exposed and move constantly, so the placement takes regular upkeep as well as a willingness to keep the designs in view.

Reading the sleeve coverage

A wider portrait shows tattoos across both forearms and up the upper arms. Dark shading, linework and larger forms overlap to create sleeve-like coverage; the arm reads as one busy but controlled field rather than a single focal piece.

Cropped photos can make one patch look separate from the rest, while a wider view shows more of the coverage at once. The photos don’t identify an artist, dates or individual design names, so the description can go only as far as the visible black-and-grey work, illustrative shapes and lettering-like details.

What the neck ink adds

In an outdoor portrait, Himra’s dreadlocks fall away from the side of his neck, leaving dark ink visible above his T-shirt collar. His arm work fills more of the frame, but the neck tattoos extend the collection beyond the sleeves.

The neck stays part of his outline in portraits, unlike an arm that can disappear under a jacket. The design itself is hard to make out, and the photo doesn’t explain its meaning; what it shows is the placement and how it sits beside his hair and collar.

Black-and-grey texture across both arms

A portrait in a sleeveless purple vest exposes both arms, with silver chains and an orange cap adding colour around the mostly dark ink. The tattoos vary in scale: some look illustrative, while others resemble lettering or small symbols.

There’s little blank space on the visible arms, but small breaks of skin and changes in line weight keep the coverage from looking flat. The dark shapes remain legible against the brighter clothes and jewellery, and the pose gives a view from shoulder to forearm.

Hands, jewellery and the performance image

In an award portrait, Himra holds two gold trophies while wearing rings and layered jewellery. The tattoos remain visible across his hands and arms, even in a more formal setting, alongside the clothes and accessories that shape the image.

Other photos bring his hands close to his face; this one puts them near the trophies. Together, the poses show how placement changes what people notice when he moves or holds something, without requiring a separate explanation for each design.

Why the collection feels so complete

The visible tattoos reach across the hands, neck, forearms and upper arms, areas that define a portrait even when Himra wears a simple T-shirt. His dreadlocks, sunglasses, chains and poses add to that outline.

The pieces don’t all have to match to sit together. The hands, neck and arms have different shapes and textures, and tattoos added over time can vary in line weight, scale and mood. Shared shading or spacing can link them if you’re planning a sleeve.

How to borrow the energy without copying the image

Start with the placement you’re prepared to live with. Hand tattoos stay on view; even a small neck design changes a portrait, while a larger one may draw the eye first. A sleeve can be dense or leave more open skin. Think about how your clothes and daily movement will change what people see.

If you’re planning a sleeve, you might place a larger design near the shoulder, medium pieces through the upper arm and smaller marks toward the forearm. Leave space for each part to read and for the collection to grow over time.

The short version

Photos show Himra with dark hand tattoos, dense arm coverage and ink on his neck. They support a description of the collection’s placement and black-and-grey look, but don’t establish the private meaning of each design.

The practical idea is to choose placement and designs that suit your own life, then build at a pace that gives each piece room. Himra’s photos show the effect of a collection worn as part of his public style.

EKKSTACY started getting tattoos at 17, beginning with his face. The Canadian singer-songwriter’s ink now covers his face, arms, chest, back, neck and hands. Some marks are easy to read; others sit in layered blackwork or appear only briefly in live photos.

The collection doesn’t read as a matching set; its pieces came together over time, including tours, trips through Europe and sessions he chose in the moment.

The best-documented pieces are the cheek pentagram, the Russian word for love across his chest, the German AUSGANG on his hand, Forever and a large unfinished Jesus design on his back, and a star on his neck. Smaller marks can be hard to identify in stage photos, so the details below stick to what he and named publications have reported.

The face tattoos and cheek pentagram

In a Rock Sound interview, EKKSTACY said his first tattoos were done on the same day when he was 17, and that they were on his face. It was an unusually visible place to start.

Rolling Stone Australia highlighted the pentagram on his cheek. Close portraits show it among smaller symbols and lettering, part of a patchwork of heavy shapes and fine lines rather than a single isolated design.

He hasn’t given a confirmed public meaning for the pentagram. Its shape and placement are clear; anything beyond that would be a guess. The uneven sizes and spacing also keep the face tattoos from looking mirrored or planned as one set.

A cheek tattoo draws attention because it sits where people look while you speak. If you’re considering one, scale and placement deserve careful thought; a small mark can change the whole face.

The Russian LOVE tattoo across his chest

In an AltPress interview, EKKSTACY said the Russian word for “love” across his chest was inspired by a girl, though they were never together. He said romantic love was what he craved most and that he put the word on his body to attract it.

The large Cyrillic lettering runs across his upper chest. Its broad strokes stand out against the denser blackwork around it, so a vulnerable word sits beside darker, rougher designs without making the collection feel polished or soft.

A quick personal detail

EKKSTACY has described tattooing as a physical diary. The chest piece is one entry he has explained in public: the word is easy to read, but its backstory belongs to him. If you’re considering text, choose something you’ll still want after the feeling that inspired it has changed; check the language and lettering before settling on size and placement.

The back work, Forever, and the unfinished Jesus design

Rock Sound reported that EKKSTACY got Forever on his back after his first face tattoos. He also described a large Jesus design that was unfinished at the time and said he planned to add a cross. He liked having his back tattoos visible on the cover of his Forever album.

The back gives a large design room across the shoulders and down the spine, but its curve changes how the work reads as the body moves. EKKSTACY’s unfinished piece was discussed as a work in progress, not a final image.

Tour photos show how quickly the collection changes

Most available photos show EKKSTACY on tour, not posed for a tattoo shoot. Movement, shadows and stage lighting can obscure a design. A photo may show that ink is there without making every line or smaller mark legible.

For marks on his fingers, arms or neck that aren’t named in an interview or clear image, it’s better to describe only what can be seen. The cheek pentagram, chest lettering, back work and neck star have firmer support from published interviews and reports.

The hand tattoo that says AUSGANG

PAPER reported AUSGANG, the German word for “exit,” tattooed on EKKSTACY’s hand. It is a short, graphic word, alongside the Russian lettering on his chest among the collection’s language-based pieces.

Hand tattoos move and rub against things through the day. Short, sturdy lettering may be easier to read there than fine script, but can fade with sun, washing and friction.

A little room matters here

For a hand tattoo, check a translation with a fluent speaker and look at how the letters sit across the knuckles or back of the hand. Leave enough space for the lines to age, and ask the artist what touch-ups might be needed.

Where everyday movement shows up

The artist should check the stencil while the hand bends and account for rings and nearby tattoos. A word across the top of the hand reads differently from lettering on fingers or knuckles.

The star on his neck and the smaller pieces around it

Rock Sound also noted a star on EKKSTACY’s neck. It is a simple shape beside heavier work, though the publication did not assign it a meaning. Close views show smaller symbols nearby, but not all have been identified.

The neck curves as the body turns, and the tattoo is difficult to cover. A star stays recognizable on that surface, but the placement is still a visible commitment.

Why the whole collection feels coherent

The collection can look scattered: letters, symbols and large black areas were added at different times. Mostly black ink and direct shapes give the patchwork a consistent visual feel, even when the pieces don’t form one planned composition.

EKKSTACY’s music moves among post-punk, alternative pop and darker internet-born styles; the tattoos have a similar refusal to sit in one category. For design inspiration, the contrast between small symbols and larger areas of coverage is more useful than copying the density.

The useful part of the style

Face, neck and hand tattoos are hard to hide and affect how people read you at work and in everyday conversations. EKKSTACY’s bold placements fit the public style he has chosen, but the same choices won’t suit everyone.

For your own collection, keep words legible and leave space for a piece to sit beside future work. A tattoo can mark a particular time or simply be something you like looking at; it doesn’t need a grand explanation.

Blackwork that hits as hard as her voice

Rachel Aspe’s tattoos are hard to miss. Dense blackwork runs from her neck across her chest and shoulders, with larger pieces on her arms and smaller marks on her hands and face. In photos, the shapes have a rough, graphic edge that suits Cage Fight’s sound, though the collection isn’t just a stage look.

Aspe is also a tattoo artist in London. In a 2026 interview, she spoke about working freely instead of forcing every design into a tidy structure; the photos showed her tattooing a client. Her own ink has that same sense of movement, with heavy shading and open skin sharing space.

The clearest views show the neck-to-chest work, packed sleeves and smaller hand and face tattoos. She has also described a piece for her grandparents: a quail with a pipe, tied to the names and memories associated with them. That family detail sits comfortably beside the darker imagery.

The sections below stick to what can be seen or what Aspe has discussed publicly. They also look at how the placement and contrast work, without treating every visible mark as if its meaning were known.

The blackwork neck and chest piece

The largest visible piece climbs from beneath Aspe’s jaw, spreads across her neck and shoulders, then reaches over the upper chest. Its dark areas give it weight, while the edges shift between body surfaces instead of stopping at the neckline. From a distance, the coverage can read like armour; closer photos show more variation in the shading.

Louder described the blackwork as arching high up the neck, over the shoulders and down across the chest. That gives a sense of its scale: it crosses several planes, so its outline changes when Aspe turns her head or moves her shoulders.

The design also links areas that could otherwise feel separate. The neck gives it a starting point, while the chest and shoulders carry the forms outward. The available photographs show the overall reach more clearly than every small line.

For a neck-to-chest piece, the useful question is how it sits when you move. Ask the artist where the dark areas should end, where skin can stay open and how the work will meet the shoulder or sternum. A stencil viewed only with the head straight won’t show the whole composition.

Her sleeves mix dark shapes with lighter detail

Aspe’s sleeves combine bold outlines and black-and-grey shading with lighter gaps. The photos show larger forms from shoulder toward forearm and hand, but not every detail is clear enough to name. The overall effect comes from texture and contrast more than one central image.

That contrast helps the work read in band photos. Coloured lights, motion and distance can swallow fine lines; larger shapes still register from the crowd, while close views reveal softer shading. The arms have both.

Blackwork covers more than solid black fill. It can use linework, abstract or ornamental shapes and negative space, too. Aspe’s sleeves mix those approaches, letting darker patches anchor the design without turning the whole arm into one flat area.

If you’re planning a sleeve, decide where you want the strongest darks and where the eye needs room to rest. That gives later pieces a place to fit. It matters more than making every tattoo depict the same subject.

Face tattoos and sharp little details

Small marks around Aspe’s eyes, cheek and the side of her face are less prominent than the neck piece, but they carry the same graphic feel. They don’t form a mirrored arrangement, and photos don’t make every symbol equally clear.

The images establish that she has face tattoos; they don’t provide a public explanation for each one. There’s no need to assign a meaning to a mark just because it’s visible. Unless Aspe has explained it, its story remains hers.

Scale does a lot of the work here. The smaller marks sit between the face and the larger neck coverage without competing with it. A small tattoo can create a pause between larger areas, but only if its size and placement suit the person’s features.

Face ink is difficult to hide and will sit alongside glasses, makeup, facial hair or future changes in style. Anyone considering it should look at the placement on their own face first, then decide whether the reference still makes sense there.

Band photos show how the tattoos move

Band photos show the tattoos on a moving body. The neck work shifts with Aspe’s posture, arm pieces bend at the elbows and the hand marks appear as she gestures. That view adds context a straight-on portrait can’t provide.

The same tattoo can look different across photographs. Lighting changes how the black and grey read; a vest may cover the centre of the chest, while a sleeveless top shows more of the shoulder. One image can foreground her face and neck, another the sleeves.

That’s useful when planning a large tattoo. Think about how it will look while walking, reaching or performing, not only when the arm is held still. A design that follows the body can change naturally with it.

Wide photos are best for seeing placement and how pieces relate; close-ups help with texture. Neither view confirms every detail. Aspe’s collection can be understood as a whole even where a small mark is too blurred to identify.

The hand and finger ink

The tattoos on Aspe’s hands extend the coverage past the sleeves. They’re smaller than the arm pieces, but the dark, direct shapes keep the same visual character. Hands are exposed in daily life and constantly move, so simple forms tend to read more clearly than intricate ones.

The hand work also helps the arm coverage continue toward the fingers instead of ending in a hard line at the wrist. Photos show the placement, though they don’t clearly identify every small design.

Finger and hand tattoos can soften with time and friction. If you’re considering one, ask the artist how the lines are likely to age and whether the design will remain legible at that size. A clear silhouette has more room to hold up than a tiny, crowded drawing.

Leaving some skin open can help, too. The goal doesn’t have to be filling every gap. Negative space can separate the marks and keep a small area from turning into one dark patch.

The artist behind the look

Aspe’s work as a tattoo artist gives another angle on her collection. She has described tattooing as one of her creative outlets alongside music, drawing and sport. Her own tattoos show an interest in shape and movement, but that doesn’t mean each one was planned as part of a single composition.

In an interview about Cage Fight, she said she turns down tattoo work when she isn’t behind the design. It offers context for how she approaches the job: the client’s idea and the artist’s own judgment both matter.

One tattoo she has discussed is a quail with a pipe, made for her grandparents and connected to the names and memories she associates with them. It’s a personal, slightly playful image, a different register from the heavy blackwork around it.

That contrast says more than a simple genre label would. Aspe’s collection includes dark and abstract work, but also a family tribute with a specific story. Not every tattoo has to match the mood of the others.

Why the collection feels so cohesive

The collection spans music, tattooing and family, and the photographs show pieces added across different areas of her body. What links them visually is a repeated use of black ink, heavy shapes and open skin—not evidence that every design was planned together.

Placement helps the separate areas relate. The neck and chest hold the centre, the sleeves extend outward and the hand tattoos carry the coverage toward the fingers. The face pieces draw attention back upward, though each tattoo can still be read on its own.

There’s a difference between a collection that shares a visual language and one built from a single plan. Aspe’s photos suggest the former: contrast and blackwork recur, while the designs and their personal contexts vary.

If you want several tattoos to sit well together, choose a few preferences you can explain—such as mostly black ink or a particular balance of filled and open areas. You don’t need to decide every future design now; a clear starting point gives an artist room to work.

What to borrow from Rachel Aspe’s style

Aspe’s style is less about one image to copy than about how she uses placement and contrast. The neck, hands and face are prominent choices, while varied shapes keep the dense coverage from reading as a single block.

Start with what you actually want on your own body. If you like blackwork, decide whether you prefer solid fills, abstract lines, ornamental forms or a mix. If the personal detail matters most, look for a symbol tied to your own life instead of borrowing the quail or another person’s memorial design.

Choose an artist whose portfolio shows the kind of work you want. Someone skilled in portraits may not specialize in abstract blackwork, and a fine-line artist may not be the right fit for a large neck-to-chest piece. Ask to see healed work in the same style before committing.

Aspe’s tattoos show how dark coverage can hold personal details and different kinds of imagery at once. The family piece has its own story; the rest don’t need an explanation added where she hasn’t given one.