Tupac Shakur got his iconic 'Thug Life' tattoo in Houston



See more photos of Tupac Shakur's tattoo work... The iconic tattoo on the influential rapper Tupac Shakur's torso was a product of a visit to a well-known Houston tattoo shop.

See more photos of Tupac Shakur's tattoo work... The iconic tattoo on the influential rapper Tupac Shakur's torso was a product of a visit to a well-known Houston tattoo shop. Photo: Kimberly Butler/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Photo: Kimberly Butler/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close Tupac Shakur got his iconic 'Thug Life' tattoo in Houston 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

The iconic "Thug Life" tattoo on the influential rapper Tupac Shakur's torso was a product of a visit to a well-known Houston tattoo shop.

This week in 1996 the rapper and actor succumbed to injuries related to a Las Vegas drive-by shooting the previous week. He was just 25 years old.

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There are dozens of photos of the tattooed Shakur shirtless onstage. Those tattoos have become iconic in the years since Shakur died and one of the most copied ones was his "Thug Life" tattoo emblazoned across his torso, right under his pectorals.

That tattoo was acquired by Shakur in Houston in 1992 at Dago's Tattoo and the artist was the owner himself Dennis "Dago" Coelho.

It's been called one of the most famous tattoos in music history and easily the most-famous in hip-hop history. It's been argued that Shakur made tattoos cool in the rap scene. (By the way, the "I" in life is actually a bullet.)

Shakur received at least eight tattoos at Dago's, located in the 5100 block of the I-45 North, over his lifetime. The shop has been in business since 1974 and in 1992 it was just one of a handful of shops in the Houston area. At this point tattoos were not as socially accepted as they are 25 years later.

Coelho himself has been tattooing for nearly 44 years and is one of the godfathers of tattooing in the city of Houston. He spoke to The Source magazine earlier this summer about his tattoo work on Shakur.

"We always sat down together and talked about it. It had to have a meaning and be something nobody had," Coelho told The Source. "Every tattoo meant something to him."

His said his favorite piece he did on Shakur is the large cross that nearly took up his whole back.

"I still admire the Tupac Cross. It's something I respect because of its meaning and we designed it together," Coelho said.

Coelho said that Shakur was a fan of the shop because Dago's had street cred.

"Back in the day, everybody downed me, mocked me, and blackballed me for associating my business with the African-American community. Having the opportunity to work with him really made everything worth it," Coelho said.

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A promising musical and film career was cut short when Shakur died, leaving fans with more than a handful of landmark musical releases to remember him by.

During his lifetime, he released four albums, including the double-disc "All Eyez On Me" in 1996, with another six released posthumously.

"All Eyez On Me" remains his magnum opus, featuring a nearly nonstop collection of rap anthems that continue to find new ears more than 20 years after it hit the streets. The album has gone 10 times platinum, selling more than 10 million copies across the globe.

To say he was prolific in the studio during his 25 years is an understatement. Most albums released after his death were built around sketches, demos and unfinished songs that he recorded during his marathon stints inside recording studios.