He learned the art of tattooing after selling his drawings to a local tattoo parlor more than a decade ago. "People in this city actually want change," said Kirkpatrick, a former college football player who was kicked out of school after a drug charge. He could have opened a tattoo shop in a more popular area in Los Angeles, but he felt compelled to plant roots where he grew up to show that a black-owned business can thrive in Compton, a city of roughly 100,000 people south of downtown Los Angeles. Kirkpatrick, 36, has already made his mark as a famed tattoo artist for several celebrities including Travis Scott. From left, Danny "KP" Kirkpatrick Erica "Barbie" Thompson, Christian "Ink Drippin'" Thomas and Timothy "Tim" Simmons, cast members in the reality television series "Black Ink Crew: Compton," at the IAM Compton tattoo shop in Compton, Calif., on Aug. The other locations include Chicago and New York, which is currently airing its eighth season on Wednesday nights. The reality series is the third spinoff of the "Black Ink Crew" franchise. He believes attracting a mix of outside clients and locals to the appointment-only shop can start to make that happen. Kirkpatrick and his crew of tattoo artists attempt to make the shop a "safe zone" in Compton and help build up one of the most economically underserved communities in the United States. He's a native of the area and owner of iAMCompton, which is considered the community's first black-owned tattoo shop. We're shedding a different light of Compton through art, our ink and music," he said of the series, which airs Wednesdays on VH1.
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