In GQ’s Tattoo Tour, GloRilla talks through tattoos from high school, pieces she chose during difficult periods, and lettering tied to family, faith, friends and important dates. She is frank about cover-ups and mistakes, too, including designs she would like to change.

That candour makes her collection easier to document. The red gorilla is the most recognisable piece, but it covers an earlier “Big Glo” tattoo, and the designs around it each have their own story. The details here follow GloRilla’s explanations and leave visible facts separate from outside guesses.

The red gorilla covers GloRilla’s badly placed “Big Glo” tattoo

GloRilla says she got her first tattoo in 12th grade. She paid about $20 after asking on Facebook if anyone knew a tattoo artist. The design read “Big Glo” with a crown, but the letters were spaced badly: the L and O sat far from the rest, so the name looked more like “Big 6.” She still calls the tattoo ugly and says she chose to cover it.

That cover-up is the large red gorilla face across her chest. GloRilla says it took around five or six hours, and the earlier lettering can still show faintly if you look closely. The gorilla was a deliberate replacement for a lettering job she disliked, not a symbol invented by someone trying to decode her stage name.

She chose red because red is her favourite colour. GloRilla says plenty of women might pick a heart for that spot, but she wanted a gorilla. People criticise the design, yet she calls it one of her favourites and says she has no plans to cover it. Her own explanation carries more weight than guesses that it must stand for aggression, Memphis or fame.

The hand, leg and snake tattoos record pain and impulse

GloRilla says a hand tattoo is among her most painful pieces. She was at the tattoo artist’s apartment after her career had taken off, smoking and drinking while wearing a waist trainer. Near the end of the session she felt woozy, got up to use the bathroom, took two steps and passed out. When she came to, only half the tattoo was done. It remains memorable as a rough session, not just another small design.

The large leg piece shows someone saying “Shh” beside a clock. GloRilla says it took about eight hours, maybe longer, and was the biggest tattoo she had at the time. Numbing cream helped, but the placement near the bone still hurt. She says she could barely walk and spent about a week in a wheelchair afterward.

She feels differently about the snake tattoo. GloRilla says she got it while angry and going through a hard time, when tattoos had become a kind of therapy. She calls the snake ugly, says there was no clear reason for choosing it, and has talked about covering it with something she likes more. In her account, it was an impulsive choice rather than a symbol planned for the long term.

Her comments are also a reminder that photographs capture a moment, not a permanent opinion. A tattoo can still be there after its owner falls out of love with it. And saying she hopes to cover a design does not mean the cover-up has already happened.

Leo, Saint, Olivia and Glo Gang fill the smaller lettering map

Several small tattoos point to GloRilla’s astrology, faith, family and music circle. She identifies the Leo sign on a finger and the word “saint”, joking that she is not actually a saint while still liking the label. Both are easy to record because she names them herself; there is no need to invent a deeper explanation.

Her mother’s name, Olivia, is another confirmed tattoo. GloRilla also points to “Glo Gang,” connecting it to her own name and saying she is a big Chief Keef fan. She let her friend Teez practise the tattooing, describing that choice as a way to support a friend learning the craft. The piece carries both the lettering and the story of who put it there.

There is also a small “faith” tattoo. GloRilla says she got it in the trenches of Memphis, describing the apartment where it was done in blunt terms, and mentions wanting a butterfly on her thigh. The butterfly is a separate design; the two details came up in the same conversation about early tattoos and local experiences.

She and her best friend Gloss have matching tattoos on their thighs. The line reads “Told you I’ll be here forever.” GloRilla says it comes from Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain,” with each friend carrying part of the phrase. That makes it a shared friendship tattoo, rather than a general inspirational quote.

Family names, Chinese lettering and dates add the personal detail

GloRilla’s family tattoos include her father’s name, Edwin, and the word “woods.” She says her father had seven children at the time, and later eight, with her as number five. The names and wording connect the ink to how she sees her place in the family.

Another design uses Chinese characters to express the idea that she would become a star. GloRilla says a friend who died in 2020 used to praise her music and tell her she would be a superstar, back when she still had what she calls her “baby voice.” She got the phrase to hold onto that encouragement and hopes her friend can see how things turned out. Its meaning comes from her account, not from guessing at the characters.

She also points out “hallelujah” in Arabic, her birth year 1999, the date 7/28/1999 and an AK-47. She says the gun and date tattoos are red because she likes that colour. These small details fill in more of the story than a single chest photograph can show.

One tattoo for a cousin reads “A cousin is a sister destiny forgot to give you.” GloRilla says she no longer speaks to that cousin and wants the design covered. That change is part of this tattoo’s history, but it should not be taken as a statement about all of her family relationships.

GloRilla’s collection holds choices she still loves, choices she regrets and designs connected to people she wants to remember. The red gorilla replaced a badly spaced high-school tattoo; the hand and leg pieces bring back painful sessions; the snake reflects an angry period; and the names, dates, faith words, friendship quote and Chinese lettering keep specific people and milestones close. The collection makes the most sense when those differences stay visible.