‘Black Ink Crew’ Recap: Young Bae’s Advice About Color Tattoos On Dark Skin Offends Black Client

Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty

Last week, Teddy let Ceaser down by flaking on his struggle press conference, and Tatti finally got the confidence to tell her boss she could be heading to jail. Young Bae brings the crew together for a great cause this week, and Puma thinks it’s time for another team-building event.

Quani Wants To Move To Atlanta Immediately

The Ceaser-less episode begins with Quani having the city of Atlanta still heavy on her mind. When Puma brought his family to the A last season, Quani fell in love with the city and wants to move the family there. Puma is onboard with the idea but is not ready to make that move yet. Quani isn’t trying to hear it and gives him an ultimatum to be prepared to move before the kids head back to school.

Quani and her issues with NYC aren’t the only things on his mind. He is also concerned about team morale and feels it is time for another team-building exercise. He expresses the idea to Tatti, and she thinks after a successful BBQ held at her house, this team-building event could be a disaster, and she has a point based on the other team-building experiences that flopped mightily. Puma pitches the idea of a tattoo battle, battle of the sexes style that will put the fellas against the ladies. The loser will have to be an apprentice to the winners.

With the team-building exercise finalized, Puma links up with Teddy to discuss what is going on in his life with Quani. Why these people confide in Teddy and want advice from this man is beyond us. Anyway, Puma reveals to Teddy that he has been going to therapy and is conflicted because Quani is serious about moving to Atlanta. Teddy suggests that Puma give it a try because he might come to love living in Atlanta, and if things don’t work out, he can always move back to NYC.

Young Bae Unites The Crew For A Good Cause

Following the tragic events of the Asian spa shooting in Atlanta, Young Bae has been about unity. Bae links up with Bobby, a half-Korean, half-Black American who lost his mother in the shooting. The two bonded, and Bae does a tribute tattoo for him that honors his late mother.

Bae also decides to hold a Blasian Unity Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and invites the crew to participate. The event will honor both Asian lives and Black lives. The entire crew, including Ceaser, shows up for the walk. Bobby, who we met earlier, participates in the unifying moment. It goes off without a hitch until the released balloons to honor the victims get stuck in a tree.

Team-Building Once Again Flops

It’s team-building time. The “competition” sees both teams battle it out by tattooing two Black women. Right off the bat, it’s a mess with each team bickering among themselves during the consultation. The women both want tattoos that require color ink which poses a challenge for the tattoo artists because they have dark skin. During the consultation, the woman tells Bae she wants a galaxy tattoo and wants it to be in full color because it’s something she has never done before.

Bae tries to explain to the woman that a tattoo with color will only look good for the first couple of days but will age terribly. “I don’t think the full color’s gonna work, right?” Bae told the client. “As a tattoo artist, we have to think about what we’re working with. We wanna give you what’s best for you and what’s gonna stay and what’s gonna look beautiful ten years later, 20 years later. You know what I’m saying? So I don’t think full color is the option.”

“Certain colors are gonna be there for a couple of days and just go away. And my job is to tell my clients that’s not how it’s gonna look after it’s done healing,” she further added during her confessional. Regardless, the tattoo gets drawn up, and Vanity, a new member of the crew, takes on the task but has to do it alone because Krystal does not participate because it’s above her, and Bae wounds up, leaving in the middle of the competition.

Things aren’t going as smoothly on the men’s side either. Their client wants a similar tattoo, specifically a full-body woman with Saturn and stars wrapped around her. Spyder convinces her that woman’s head alone would be better because the detailing would stand out more. After all the bickering and unprofessionalism, both clients were pleased with their tattoos, and Puma will decide which one is good enough to take the prize.

Puma comes bearing bad news the following day, specifically geared towards Young Bae. The client felt offended because Bae didn’t feel color tattoos would work on her, which led to more drama and a lesson on doing color tattoos on dark skin on next week’s episode.

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Photo: Johnny Nunez / Getty