‘LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION’

NYC Tattoo Artist Accuses Tekashi 6ix9ine of Defamation, Stealing His Name

The rapper says in a documentary that the ink master would use heroin for inspiration, which the tattooist said never happened.

A tattoo artist in New York City has sued Tekashi 6ix9ine for defamation, alleging the rapper took his stage name from the ink master and then ruined it. A recent documentary, 69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez, says of the rapper, legal name Daniel Hernandez, “A Japanese tattoo artist named Takashi would inspire Danny’s new persona, Tekashi 69.” The artist in question is Takashi Matsuba, based in Brooklyn. In another documentary, Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine, Hernandez himself said that Matsuba “did heroin to create.” Matsuba denied that claim, writing in the Manhattan Supreme Court suit that he “never used heroin in his life.” Matsuba alleged the association with the rapper, who served prison time for gang-related charges and then snitched on his former associates, has damaged his reputation and his business. Matsuba’s attorneys wrote, “Acquaintances and patrons of plaintiff have already asked him whether he is connected with defendant Hernandez… The likelihood of confusion (even with one letter being changed) is obvious; indeed it has already occurred.”