Black Ink is an African American-owned and operated tattoo parlor in Harlem, NY. The hour-long docu-series Black Ink Crew follows the lives of Black Ink workers, Ceaser, Dutchess, Alex, Sassy, Puma, and O’ Shit, who go by their street names, of course. (Unless you thought someone’s parents would really name them O’Shit.)
The VH1 program doesn’t stray too far from the typical reality TV fodder – parties, fights, and gossip – but the melodrama is balanced out with a glimpse at the entrepreneurial life of Black Ink owner Ceaser Emanuel. His shop is a little over a year old and already has a growing clientele, including hip hop stars, pro athletes, and celebrities like Cam’ron, Amar’e Stoudemire, Stephon Marbury, Tyson Beckford, and Keri Hilson. We also see Ceaser struggle with the not so glamorous side of work – where to draw the line between work and family, business and pleasure, being a boss and being a friend – and maybe learn a thing or two about what to avoid when starting a business of our own.
Only three of the workers actually do tattoos – Ceaser, O’ Shit, and Dutchess. The others find their way onto the payroll in ways that are not always fully captured by the camera.
A brief foray into fashion, with urban runway shows and photo shoots (above), provides a wider spectrum for the appreciation of tattoo artists and their human canvases.
Black Ink Crew debuted in January 2013, joining a long list of past and current tattoo shows: LA Ink (TLC), Miami Ink (TLC), New York Ink (TLC), Ink Master (Spike TV), Best Ink (Oxygen), Tattoo Highway (A&E), Tattoo Nightmares (Spike TV), Inked (A&E), Permanent Mark (Spike TV), Tattoo School (TLC).
But amid this barrage of tattoo-reality, a cross between black art and entrepreneurship is where it finds its niche.
Check out the preview clip:
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Hope they making the paper!
Yeah, others find their way onto the payroll. Tell me about that. Last year I started my own business only to realize that four of my friends eat at my house fro free ever time of day – they had access to my kitchen. Another three were getting paid cleaning – cleaning their shoes. I sacked all of them a month ago and this is the first time in 14 months since I started my restaurant that I’ve seen profit!
When you open a business there are two question ya’ll need to ask:
1. What’s the ROI (Return On Investment)?
2. What’s the ROmT (Return On my Time)?
The tattoo business may seem an okay ROI but, O’shit, its a total dickhead on ROmT!
I think we can conclude that if your business is only a year old and you are already doing reality shows, you must have thought through ROI and ROmT! Cos where I stand I don’t know the one person that loves their job.
This my fav. vh1 show for real. i’d like to get into this business, take my idea to the Shark Tank, get me some $10 for 89% my company! Then i’ll kick back and chill, see how that money flow.
Tattoos are not art! They are a denigration. But well, knock yourself out if you think it will solve some of your problems.
What are they? A denigration? Dude I don’t know what the f-ck that is. Can you break it down?
I think it means, ‘shit on the wall.’ Or something like that. I guess he trying to say, a tattoo is a shit fcked skin. You dig?
O’Shit! I still don’t understand what that shit means. A tattoo is a tattoo, you dig? It’s not shit.