The late '90s were good to Erykah Badu -- she had a bunch of hits, starred in some flicks ... so maybe that's why she was rockin' her best 1998 henna tattoos in Miami on Thursday.

The 42-year-old mother of three debuted her latest highlighted hair-tastrophe and showed off her temporarily inked up limbs while hanging out in a bikini in South Beach.

Her legs are to dye for.

Colin Kaepernick's meteoric rise hasn't just been great for the 49ers ... it's also been HUGE for his longtime tattoo artist ... who tells TMZ business has exploded ever since the inked up QB led SF into the playoffs.

We spoke with tat artist Nes Andrion -- who's been working on Colin for years at his shop in Reno where CK played his college ball.

Andrion tells us ... ever since Colin started winning games in November -- when starting QB Alex Smith got a concussion -- customers have been pouring in, asking for 49ers-themed ink.

Nes tells us, "People come in and ask if I am the artist that does Colin’s tattoos, and ask when I think I am going to tattoo him again.”  

Nes adds, “People want to get their tattoos done by the same artist as Colin Kaepernick."

According to Nes, Colin will be coming back in the off-season to finish his enormous angel-demon-themed chest piece.

It's pretty hilarious though, considering Nes is a proud Patriots fan -- but now that Colin's winning, he secretly hopes the 49ers can bring home the Lombardi trophy this year.

"To be honest I want [Colin] to take it even though the Pats are my team. He puts money in my pocket."

Sorry, Tom.

Jets nightmare QB Mark Sanchez better clean up his act if he wants his jersey to stay on Rex Ryan's arm -- so says the head coach, who claimed he'll ink a NEW number onto his infamous tattoo ... if Mark doesn't start playing better.

Rex was questioned about the tat during a news conference today -- and Rex joked, "Obviously, if Sanchez doesn’t play better, that number’s changing. That’s a given."

As we reported, Rex unveiled the bizarre tattoo while on vacation in the Bahamas last week -- a tat of what appears to be his naked wife wearing ONLY a Mark Sanchez jersey.


During the news conference, Rex insisted the tat's just a coincidence -- claiming he got the ink job long before Sanchez came to the Jets.

Rex said, "It’s funny. It’s actually a tattoo I’ve had for like three years ... I’ve been married for 25 years, and through my eyes, my wife’s the most beautiful woman in the world. So that’s what it is."

For reference: here's a list of every other player to wear #6 for the Jets ... Bill Demory, Bubby Brister, Joe Prokop, Ray Lucas, Doug Brien, Kellen Clemens, and Reggie Hodges.

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan ditched the shirtless look that made headlines on Friday ... instead opting for a giant t-shirt on Saturday as he lounged on the beach with his wife in the Bahamas.

Big Rex set the NY tabloids on fire when he was seen sporting a tattoo on his right arm of his wife wearing only a jersey of embattled Jets QB Mark Sanchez.

Tattoo or no tattoo, we prefer our Rex with as much clothing on as possible.

Thanks to our friends at the NY Daily News for the pic.

Is winning the Super Bowl, as a rookie quarterback, enough to make Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll get a tattoo of Russell Wilson on his arm?

Tattoos of quarterbacks is a hot topic since it was discovered yesterday that Rex Ryan, head coach of the hapless New York Jets, has a tattoo on his arm of his wife ... wearing nothing but a Mark Sanchez jersey.

We posed the question to Carroll today as he gets ready to take on the NFC East champion Washington Redskins tomorrow. His answer was short, sweet and to the point.

Nothing personal, Russ.

NY Jets head coach Rex Ryan just unveiled a bizarre tattoo that tells Mark Sanchez ... your QB job is 100% secure -- and also my wife totally digs you!

Sexy Rexy was spotted on the beach in the Bahamas with a tattoo on his right arm of a woman -- who looks a lot like Rex's wife Michelle Ryan -- wearing a #6 Jets jersey ... aka Mark's jersey.


After the Jets' horrendous season there's been talk that Sanchez could be traded ... so the ink could simply be a vote of confidence.

But the bigger issue ... why in the world would Rex use his wife to send that message?? Or maybe she's actually into Sanchez?

All fair questions ... considering Rex and Michelle's alleged fetish history.

We don't know if the tat is permanent, but it's worth nothing ... no Tim Tebow ink.

UPDATE: Upon further review the woman seems to be "Tebowing" (she also seems to be wearing no underwear). So ... mixed message?

Like a good elder girlfriend, Taylor Swift, 23, chaperoned her current boyfriend Harry Styles to get his latest tat in West Hollywood on Tuesday.

With Taylor clinging to his side, the 18-year-old One Direction singer got an image of a huge ship inked on his left upper arm at the ever popular Shamrock Tattoo.

While Harry is no stranger to body art, he's so far managed to avoid getting Taylor's name etched permanently into his flesh.

Pretty funny -- considering the bad boy in Taylor's new music video "I Knew You Were Trouble" gets a very similar tattoo ... and the song's all about how he broke her heart (surprise).

Remember when Kat Von D vowed to NEVER remove her tattoo of Jesse James' face even though they broke up?? 'Memba that? Well ... she just changed her mind.

Kat just posted a photo showing a laser beam blasting away at the portrait of a young Jesse that Kat had inked on to her rib cage back when they were dating.

When they broke up last year, Kat told us the tat had "a lot of meaning" ... and she wanted to keep it to preserve the memory.

But Kat has obviously had a change of heart ... and paid a visit to Dr. Tattoff. She also tweeted, "AND SO IT BEGINS! First round of tattoo removal well underway! :)"

No word on why Kat changed her mind ... but we're guessing a giant portrait of the ex-boyfriend doesn't sit well with the current boyfriend.

"One Direction" singer Harry Styles just got the most awesome pair of tattoos -- if the year was 1996! Then again ... someone in our newsroom has the same knack for timely ink.

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As if One Direction singer and teenage-heart exploder Harry Styles needs another excuse to take his shirt off -- but he did it anyway last night ... to pump his skin with ink.

18-year-old Styles -- who already has several tats -- stripped down at Shamrock Tattoo in West Hollywood for the new ink job ... while a crowd of girls ogled him from outside.

According to reports, Harry's tat session consisted of sparrows and a couple of stars.

The British boy band is currently in L.A. for a special performance on "X Factor" tonight.

Eva Longoria has a nasty red blotch on the back of her neck -- and she's probably THRILLED about it ... 'cause it used to be a tattoo of her ex-husband's basketball jersey number.

Back in January, Longoria began laser treatments to erase 3 Tony Parker-inspired tats -- the "NINE" tattoo ... the wedding date tattoo on her wrist ... and Tony's initials (which were put on a very private, undisclosed location).

Tattoo removal doesn't happen overnight -- it takes multiple sessions, which have to be spaced out over several months.

But judging by the way her neck looked in Bev Hills yesterday, Eva's body is just a couple more months away from being a fresh canvas again.