Grammy-nominated rapper Remy Ma may have spent the past seven years in prison, but her scheduled release is just around the corner, and husband Papoose (born Shamele Mackie) showed his full support this week with a fresh Remy-inspired tattoo. The design of Papoose’s new tattoo is based on Remy Martin’s V.S.O.P. cognac bottle, and features a portrait of MC Remy Ma – born Reminisce Smith and formerly known by the stage name Rémy Martin – holding a microphone and wearing sunglasses, above a banner that reads “Remy Mackie” and the Roman numerals XXIV. The tat, which is inked on Papoose’s right forearm, also includes, around the neck of the bottle, Remy’s initials “RM,” which conveniently match the initials of Remy Martin cognac. No word yet on the meaning behind “XXIV,” but 24 is close to the number of years Remy almost spent in jail, so there’s that.
Back in May 2008, Papoose’s then-girlfriend Remy Ma was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of assault, weapons possession and attempted coercion, in connection with an argument she had with a friend, Makeda Barnes-Joseph, the previous year, during which Barnes-Joseph was shot two times in the abdomen. The scuffle was reportedly over a missing sum of $300,000, and, although Remy was facing a maximum sentence of 25 years for the incident, her sentence was ultimately reduced to eight years, and she was expected to be released in 2015. During a July 2012 interview with Hot 97, however, Remy Ma announced that she would be released in 22 ½ months, and just this month, Papoose confirmed that his wife’s release has been pushed up to July 30, 2014.
Papoose has stuck by Remy’s side during her seven-year incarceration, and the two rappers were even married in a jailhouse ceremony in 2008. 
It’s no wonder that Papoose was inspired to get some ink to celebrate Remy Ma’s upcoming release, although his latest tattoo isn’t the only one he’s gotten since his wife was imprisoned. Back in 2012, Papoose debuted five new tattoos on his fingers featuring each of New York’s boroughs, because he considers himself “the king of New York.” Papoose’s Remy Ma portrait tat was inked by tattoo artist Kelvin Cepeda of the Black Ink tattoo shop in New York City, and Remy Ma apparently had no idea her hubby was going under the needle. “Surprised Remy with my new tattoo!!!!!” Papoose captioned the Instagram photo of his new ink, which he revealed to his wife when he visited her in prison over the weekend. What a pair those two make.
