Teddy Swims Reveals Which Iconic Rapper Inspired Him To Get His Eyelids Tattooed

Singer Teddy Swims is covered in flashy tattoos, but few knew some of his most popular designs were inspired by the iconic rapper Lil Wayne.

During a podcast interview, the "Lose Control" artist got candid about his body art and explained exactly why he decided to get the words "tough love" tattooed on his eyelids.

Prior to this revelation, Teddy Swims made headlines just weeks ago after facing backlash for admitting to using AI tools in his music—a move that drew criticism from some of the industry's biggest stars.

Speaking with Bobbi Althoff on her "Not This Again" podcast, Swims, 33, opened up about his many tattoos and explained that he was inspired to get a specific set after seeing rapper Lil Wayne's ink.

"I’m a huge Lil Wayne fan, and he had the 'Fear of God' on his stuff," Swims said, noting that his admiration for the rapper goes even further than people realize.

"Tha Carter 3 changed my life when I was in the ninth grade, and I was like, I have to get my eyelids tattooed," he added.

Indeed, Lil Wayne famously got his eyelids tattooed with the words "fear god." According to Swims, he followed suit simply to be like his idol. "It was just to be cool like Lil Wayne, to be honest," he said.

This isn't the first time Swims has discussed his obsession with the famed rapper. During an appearance on Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast, he shared a similar sentiment with the Super Bowl champion and Grammy winner Coco Jones.

"Tha Carter III was like my favorite album… Lil Wayne had the 'Fear God,' and I just wanted to be like Lil Wayne. All I ever wanted to do was get my eyelids tattooed. He’s f-cking cool, man," Swims shared.

Clearly, Lil Wayne has had a larger influence on the music industry than some may have realized. In a previous interview, the "Lollipop" rapper spoke honestly about how it feels to know he's made an impact on artists coming up after him.

"Sometimes people ask me how I feel about everybody looking like me, everybody getting tattoos, etc," he said, according to a report from Hot New Hip Hop. "That’s like seeing your kid come out of the room and looking just like you; it feels amazing."

Lil Wayne explained that it's clear he set the blueprint for many artists today, having created his own lane.

"So the visible influence is kind of obvious because I know for a fact I didn’t get this look from anyone. There was no one that inspired this look. I just ran into looking like this. But other than that, I hope that my work ethic [is influential as well]," he said.

Before speaking about his tattoos and musical inspirations, Teddy Swims made headlines at the end of November 2025 for raving about how "truly amazing" AI tools can be for him as an artist. In fact, the father of one said AI has been "super helpful" for him and his collaborators.

Swims later shared a specific instance in which he used AI to change a lyric in a song. Since he was in Australia and couldn't make it to a recording studio in the United States, he used an intelligence tool instead. "Rather than me going [to] the studio and doing the line 15 times and spending that time and money and effort, he's actually been able to go in and just change the word," he said.

Swims has also used AI tools to help him visualize what a song he's created might sound like in a different genre.

"What we'll do is maybe just take an acoustic and write the melody and the lyrics and just get the song done and upload it into it and say, 'OK, I want to hear this song as a country song' or 'I want to hear this song as a rock and roll song,'" he said.

Users responded strongly to Swims' admission, slamming him for seemingly taking an easy route to create what's supposed to be meaningful work.

"If you're an artist [who] uses AI to create your art, you are no longer an artist. Creator, sure, but definitely not an artist," a user wrote.