Drake sent the rap universe into a tizzy when he posted a series of photos to Instagram captioned “album mode,” but probably not in the way he expected. Celebrity gossip site Popbuzz and Complex both noticed that many of the responses to Drake’s photos seemed to focus on one in particular, in which a tattoo of a woman’s face can be seen adorning his arm. Fans apparently speculated that the face belongs to onetime Drake flame Rihanna, since he’s been vocal in the past about his infatuation with her and is known to get tattoos of his crushes — like the late Aaliyah, who is tatted on Drake’s back.
https://www.instagram.com/p/By5iJFzgpG7/?utm_source=ig_embed
The tattoo in question, though, isn’t actually all that recent. A Complex post dated to 2017 posits that it’s a from a photo of actress Robin Givens, best known for her roles in 90s Black films like Boomerang and Blankman and her ill-fated marriage with Mike Tyson which ended in 1989. It’s anyone’s guess why the actress would be so influential to the Canadian superstar — maybe he really, really loves Boomerang — but it’s almost certain that the tattoo is not from a photo of Rihanna. Intriguingly, though, the former couple did get matching tattoos of a shark, which neither have covered up or removed.
That didn’t stop fans from having a field day on Twitter, breaking out the usual assortment of reactions .gifs and hilarious digs at the emo hip-hop pioneer. One thing is for sure, though: If anyone can find a way to spin a viral misunderstanding to his advantage, it’s Drake, aka rap’s unofficial king of memes. Check out the responses below.
bitchhh is that Rihanna on his arm??? https://t.co/HUCUvngJjj
— chu (@chuuzus) June 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/chuuzus/status/1141403604466720768
https://twitter.com/chuuzus/status/1141402826448547840
https://twitter.com/6angz/status/1141479623978618882
Drake got a Rihanna tattoo… this is y’alls king pic.twitter.com/8Bd2ompftC
— theö 🇵🇸 (@theosmanifesto) June 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/RhiannKandola/status/1141469813006655488
The actress miss Robin Givens pic.twitter.com/tFo2OJRZLB
— 💫savedbytheangelll💫 (@AngelRachelx) June 20, 2019