There is (or there should be) an implicit understanding that part of getting a tattoo means running the risk of having something you hate etched permanently into your skin. An ex’s name, a Chinese character that doesn’t quite mean exactly what you thought it did, an embarrassing quote from a poet you loved when you were 18-years-old: A decision that feels like a fine idea in the moment may not always hold up.
In Chance the Rapper’s case, that would be a chest tattoo that says, “Get back to work.” He told Katie Couric in an exclusive interview that his first and only piece of ink is also one that he deeply regrets. “It’s so stupid, I hate it. No one’s seen it,” he told Couric, before unveiling the tattoo for all to see. “It’s a backwards tattoo. It’s a mirror tattoo, which is a concept I created.”
Lucky for the “Same Drugs” rapper, the unfortunate body art is easy to conceal — it’s hidden below his shirt, right above his heart. (Or nipple, depending on who you’re asking.) He confessed that he’d always planned to live a tattoo-free life, but decided to get the phrase inked on a whim. “I got it when I was 21,” he said wistfully, as if looking back upon the days of his foolish youth. (Chance is now 23.) “Basically, it’s a reminder that I’m not doing enough.”
A tough sell, to be sure — but to regret is to be human, and to regret an ill-advised tattoo is very common indeed. (They didn’t invent tattoo removal lasers just for fun, after all.) His conclusion: lesson learned. “Definitely not getting any more tattoos,” he said. Sounds like we won't be seeing him make the same mistake twice.