Rihanna wasn’t thinking about getting a new tattoo when she contacted her friend, BangBang, to visit her home in Los Angeles. The tattoo artist, who lives in New York, arrived at her house to tattoo one of Rihanna’s close pals. When he suggested it was time for Rihanna herself to get a new tattoo, specifically a gun tattoo that they had talked about, she agreed.

BangBang was the tattoo artist who drew the star tattoos on Rihanna’s back, the word, “shhhhh” on her finger and roman numerals on her shoulder. They had originally planned to put one gun below each shoulder, but agreed that they took the focus away from her face, one of her best qualities.

According to BangBang, the gun symbolizes strength and power. He added that Rihanna has more tattoo plans for 2009.