Seven letters in bold, heavy-metal-style lettering, right across a man’s back: KEYSHIA. On Monday morning, October 26, Keyshia Cole put that image on her Instagram Story, and the back in the photo appears to belong to Philadelphia rapper Skrilla.
The R&B singer did not write a long caption. She wrote “Ok !!!” over the picture and then, in a second line, “Let that be known.”
That was it. Neither artist has said when the tattoo was done, who did it or what prompted it, and Cole’s Story, like every Instagram Story, was built to vanish after a day. The screenshots did not.
Rumor or relationship?
Here is the careful part. Cole and Skrilla have never put out a statement defining what they are to each other. What they have done is post, a lot, and the posts have done the talking. At least one rap outlet now calls her his girlfriend, but a back tattoo and a two-line caption are still the closest thing to a confirmation either of them has offered.
Laid out in order, the public trail looks like this:
- July 2026: both shared photos on Instagram at roughly the same moment. In one, Cole wraps her arms around Skrilla’s waist as he takes a bathroom mirror selfie; her caption was a single word, “Yup.” He posted shots of the two of them at a club and on a yacht.
- July 28: Cole showed off roses, chocolates and a card that read, “Love u beautiful. XOXO.”
- Since then: the pair have been seen out together around Philadelphia, Skrilla’s hometown.
- October 26: the “KEYSHIA” back tattoo appears on her Story.
From that July “Yup” to the October ink is about three months.
Not her first name tattoo story
Cole has been on the other side of this before. In 2025 she spoke publicly about a tattoo she has dedicated to her former boyfriend, Atlanta rapper Hunxho. The two had dated openly before calling it quits in March 2025. This time she is the name on the skin, not the one wearing it.
Who they are
The pairing joins two very different chapters of Black music. Cole, born in Oakland in 1981, came up through Bay Area sessions before A&M Records signed her. Her 2005 debut, The Way It Is, opened at No. 6 on the US albums chart and went platinum on the strength of “I Should Have Cheated” and “Love.” Critics dubbed her the “Princess of Hip-Hop Soul.” Her 2007 single “Let It Go,” with Missy Elliott and Lil’ Kim, reached No. 7 on the Hot 100, and “Heaven Sent” spent nine straight weeks at No. 1 on the R&B/hip hop songs chart. She wrapped her 20th-anniversary tour for that debut on January 18, 2026, and this July appeared on Masego’s album Fix Your Face.
Skrilla, born Jemille Edwards in 1999, is one of the louder voices in Philadelphia drill. He signed to Priority Records in 2023, and his song “Doot Doot (6 7)” turned into a TikTok phenomenon in 2025, kicking off the “6-7” craze that spread through basketball clips on the app. His album Z arrived on May 1, 2026.
Cole built her fame on radio ballads and three BET reality series about her own life; Skrilla found his through a TikTok meme. For now, the only public comment from either of them on the tattoo is what Cole typed over the photo on Monday: “Ok !!!” and “Let that be known.”
Further reading
Image: Tat2ralfy, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. How we work.
