Tattoo

LeBron James has a new piece of body art -- a tribute to Kobe Bryant complete with imagery of a Black Mamba.

Both LeBron and Anthony Davis hit up tattoo artist Vanessa Aurelia on Wednesday looking to pay tribute to Kobe with some fresh ink.

Fast-forward to Thursday morning ... when Bron and the Lakers were working out in front of the Lakers facility in El Segundo and gave the media a sneak peek at his new art.

The tat is still under wraps but it appears he's got a black mamba snake with some words underneath. Some people in the office think it reads, "Kobe 4 Life" but it's really hard to tell.

We're told Bron plans to do a big reveal on his Instagram soon -- most likely before he takes the court on Friday when the Lakers take on the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center.

Originally Published -- 1/30 1:43 PM PT

Justin Bieber found more real estate on his body to add a new tat, and this one says a lot about where he is right now ... and where he plans on going.

The Biebs really branched out this time, getting a laurel wreath across his collar bone. The 2 branches connect in the area above his chest and below his neck ... nice and symmetrical.

JB flaunted his new ink Thursday outside a gym in L.A. -- one of his buds gave it an up-close inspection.

As for the meaning of the tattoo ... the laurel wreath is known as a symbol of triumph and nobility. There could also be a religious significance -- many view the wreath as a reminder that victory can only be attained by following God.

Justin's obviously been very open about his Christianity, and he's also revealed he's been through a lot recently, including his Lyme disease diagnosis.

He's fought through it, though, and already this year ... he's released a new single and a documentary. The future's looking bright too, with an upcoming album and tour.

Seems like he's feeling pretty triumphant about it.

Justin Bieber has locked down some of music's biggest names to join him on his comeback album, and he's already floating a name for the project that's made a permanent mark on his body ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to JB tell us Travis Scott, Post Malone and Kehlani are among the featured performers on his album ... Bieber's first since he released "Purpose" in 2015. We're told Bieber plans to drop the album by March -- his birthday month -- and the tour starts in May.

Our sources say Justin has completed his parts for the song with Post, but is still waiting on the vocals back from the "Circles" singer.

As for the album name ... we're told a leading candidate is "Forever." Justin recently got the word tatted on his neck and has put album names like "Purpose" and "Believe" on his body before, so it's a signal. But, we're told so far no firm decision on album name has been made.

Justin's single "Yummy" -- produced by 18-year-old Kid Culture -- dropped Friday, his first from the new album, and a very personal 10-part docuseries profiling the singer's life and struggles over the last few years comes out this month.

Justin Bieber's showing off the countless hours of artwork he's accumulated -- all over his body -- in a series of up-close and personal vids.

Bieber just shared the tattoo shots while chillin' poolside with his shirt off ... revealing his ink starting from his colorful Crocs and working his way up his legs to his torso covered in majestic animal art.

He pays extra attention to his arms, flaunting a "Make Em Pay" tat with a couple of six-shooters ... along with some religious symbols and other messages.

JB ends his full-body tour with a focus on JC -- the Jesus tattoo on his left calf.

Interestingly -- Bieber's extreme closeups don't include a good look at the tat he got earlier this month -- a giant bird plastered on the side of his neck ... but he does give a quick glimpse of the new piece.

Demi Lovato added new ink on her bod for the holidays ... and like much of her last year, it's inspirational.

Demi spent most of her Monday getting inked up by Alessandro Capozzi at a private studio in downtown L.A. We are told he started on Demi's tattoo around noon and finished around 8 PM. The finished product? An angel representing the rebirth of the spirit.

Capozzi says he and Demi created the image together. The dark wings represent the bad times but the fading wings represent how Demi's moved forward. The light from within represents the inner strength that's necessary for the change in her life ... and the doves pulling her up symbolize the reach of a higher state of consciousness. Deep stuff.

Justin Bieber's latest ink runs afoul afowl ... he's got a giant bird plastered on his neck.

The Biebs unveiled his new neck tattoo as he was leaving church Wednesday night with his wife, Hailey. As you can see ... there's a bird on the left side of his neck with its head facing his Adam's apple, appearing set for flight across Justin's throat.

Hard to tell what kind of bird it is, but it makes a nice addition to all the other animal artwork on his body. As you may know, Bieber has a giant bear tattoo on his chest across from a giant lion tattoo... and an eagle with its wings stretched is inked across his abs.

Justin teased his fans on Instagram about the new tat, saying he got a new one and asked if they wanted to see it ... but he's yet to share a shot of the final product himself.

Unclear if JB was inspired by "Portlandia" while deciding what to permanently add to his neck ... but he definitely put a bird on it!

Wanna see a walking work of art?? Just check out Cody Garbrandt's fresh ink ... 'cause the UFC star is giving TMZ Sports the breakdown on his new tattoo!!

Of course, No Love is no stranger to the needle -- he's got tats on his neck, chest and arms ... and now his back is fully covered with an epic gladiator-esque image!!

Cody tells us the whole process lasted about 25 hours ... so yeah, tat artist Nic Westfall at the Skull Museum is one patient cat.

Cody says the most painful part of the process was when Westfall got to his lower back, because he recently had stem cell treatment.

But, the craziest thing about this -- Cody says it didn't cost him a PENNY to get done ... the dude got the hookup because it's basically an ad for the artist whenever he fights in the Octagon!

We also talked UFC with the former champ ... and he says he'd be down to face off against Henry Cejudo .... after he got called out by Triple C!!

Danielle Bregoli's strained relationship with her mother is arguably what made her famous -- or infamous -- but she's turning over a new leaf by tatting Mom's name on her neck!!!

Bhad Bhabie was strolling through LAX Friday afternoon when a pap caught a glimpse of the new ink -- and she revealed Barbara Ann's name is permanently branded on her neck.

As you can see ... Danielle got the tatt done in black cursive, and it stretches across a good chunk of skin. Sounds like the homage to Mom is pretty fresh too.

Aaron Carter is dedicating some serious real estate on his neck for the king of the jungle -- not that he's trying to save face or anything. He already inked that up.

Anywho, tattoo artist Nadia Katherine tells TMZ ... she recently met Aaron through a friend who happened to be the opening act for Aaron's concert in Nova Scotia, Canada. We're told Nadia and Aaron met backstage and when he found out what she does, he jumped at the chance to get a new piece.

We're told Aaron came in Monday for a nearly 4-hour sesh to the get the roaring lion on the right side of his neck.

The tattoo artist responsible for inking up almost the entire side of Aaron Carter's face claims he tried to talk him out of it, but the singer insisted ... and he actually wanted more.

Herchell Carrasco -- known as RockRollG -- tells TMZ ... he booked a tat session with Carter at his home Friday for $3k, but nothing really went according to plan. Herchell says he thought he was going to be adding more art to Aaron's torso -- there was no talk of a face tattoo -- but once Carter got the idea for Medusa ... everything snowballed.

Carrasco tells us Aaron knew he had experience doing face tattoos -- including some on Tekashi 6ix9ine's forehead shortly before he was arrested -- so Aaron got revved up for him to tat up his mug too ... RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE.

Herchell says he and Aaron settled for the side of the face, and he even tried to talk him out of that ... but he says Carter knew what he wanted and ultimately, it's up to the client what they want to do.

Carrasco adds, "Before I tattoo anyone, I take into consideration their mental state ... in Aaron’s case, I assessed the situation and I genuinely felt he was in a good place mentally to get tattooed."

We're told they initially used Rihanna's 2013 Medusa-inspired cover photo for GQ magazine as a guide for a stencil drawing, but then Aaron wanted the pic as his actual tattoo ... so Carrasco reluctantly obliged.

He tells us he did the large tattoo but Aaron wasn't satisfied -- he also wanted "Love" inked under his eye ... because he told Carrasco that's his brand right now.

A shirtless Philadelphia fan showed off the most incredible belly button tat ever during the Eagles-Packers game Thursday night ... and WE CAN NOT STOP STARING!!!

The ink is glorious ... it's a drawing of the Phillies' famous mascot, Phillie Phanatic, and because it fits so perfectly on the guy's stomach -- it's entrancing.

The face of the Phanatic lines up with the man's belly button ... which means where the mascot's nose goes, there's nothing but a black hole.

It's seriously hilarious.

NBA superstar Damian Lillard is a hardcore Raiders fan -- he's even got the logo tatted on his arm -- but if Oakland cuts Antonio Brown, Dame says he'd consider getting his ink REMOVED!!!

Lillard is from Oakland and proud of it ... hence the tattoo -- so when we saw him at the NBA 2K20 event in L.A. on Thursday, we had to ask about the drama between AB and Mike Mayock.

Of course, EVERYONE is waiting to see if the Raiders cut Brown for allegedly threatening to punch the team's general manager in the face during a heated altercation this week, but Lillard says he's standing with the WR.

"I don't think they should cut 'em," Lillard said ... "I think it's a 0% chance they cut AB."

"Because if they do that, I might have to get my tattoo removed."

Lillard might want to start researching laser removal specialists ... because there's a strong buzz Oakland could get rid of Brown as early as FRIDAY in order to get out of that massive $50 MILLION contract they signed him to.

Stay tuned ...

Larry Bird's clean-cut, non-tatted image is back ... sorta ... because the artist behind his inked-out mural in Indiana has removed the NBA legends face tats after Larry complained.

Remember, artist Jules Muck (aka Muck Rock) has created a modernized version of Bird's iconic 1977 Sports Illustrated shoot ... complete with tattoos in his face, chest and arms.

The image caught Bird's attention -- and he tapped his attorney to reach out and ask Jules to change it because he's not a "tattooed guy" and felt the mural could hurt his brand image.

We spoke with Jules, who tells us the two sides agreed to a compromise -- she would remove all of the tats ... EXCEPT ONE ... the "Indiana" ink on Bird's forearm.

So, on Thursday, Jules grabbed some spray paint and went to work ... doing her version of laser tattoo removal -- and the end result is still pretty cool.

Larry Bird is adamant he's NOT a "tattooed guy" -- and he ain't happy with a new mural in Indiana that depicts him as a walking canvas.

The NBA legend's attorney has reached out to Jules Muck, the artist who created the Bird tribute on a Fountain Square building in Indianapolis ... an image that shows a young Bird with ink on his face, chest and arms.

In the mural, Bird looks like a SoundCloud rapper -- with tats showing everything from bunnies humping to the word "Indiana" on his forearm ... there's also a clover (Celtics) and a spider web.

The image is a play off of Bird's famous 1977 Sports Illustrated shoot, when he played for Indiana State.

But, Bird's attorney says the image is a problem because the REAL Larry doesn't have tattoos and Larry feels he "needs to protect" his brand.

"Larry’s position is he has elevated himself from where he began to where he is now through a lot of hard work. He has developed a brand that is marketable and he needs to protect that brand,” attorney Gary Sallee told IndyStar.

"The mural, as originally painted, was a departure from that brand."

The artist says she's conflicted about how she'll handle the issue -- she's still considering her options.

Imagine Dragons bassist Ben McKee is wearing his intuition on his sleeve ... literally.

The pop rocker recently hooked up with famed Los Angeles tattoo artist Dillon Forte for a super sick work of art stretching from Ben's left shoulder all the way down to his fingertips!!!

The sleeve's one cosmic creation -- it's inspired by a higher consciousness. What the hell does that mean? Well, smoke something if ya got it, and bear with us.

We're told the repeating pattern represents "the interconnectedness of all life and the unified field of vibrations resonating cosmic intelligence." Ummm ... puff, puff, pass?

Ben started his sleeve last year, and then decided he wanted the ink to run down to his fingertips. Remember, the universe is ever expanding -- so the musician sat down for a 4-hour sesh at Dillon's Sri Yantra Tattoo Studio in Venice.

Dillon's inked up tons of celebs with his super intricate artwork ... including Kat Von D, Chris Hemsworth and a head tattoo for Usher!

Ben's tat will definitely add another wrinkle to Imagine Dragons' already killer live shows. Just don't get lost in the cosmicness, dude.

"Bachelor in Paradise" stars Dean Unglert and Caelynn Miller-Keyes have taken their show on the road but one thing's noticeably missing ... his porn mustache!!!

Oh yeah ... SPOILER ALERT!!!

We got pics of Dean and Caelynn hanging earlier this week at The Honorable Society Tattoo Parlor in WeHo. We're told Dean wanted to add a couple more tats ... including one on his calf of a man with a parachute. The other tat was going on his back, but we don't know what image he picked.

While Dean appeared stoked about the idea ... Caelynn looked less than interested. Witnesses tell us their interaction was kinda tense, but maybe she just hates his ink choices. In any event, the bigger story here is ... NO ROCK on Caelynn's hand!!! So, while the 'BiP' drama king and queen have kept their relationship going ... there's no engagement. Yet.

Sorry ... that deserved another SPOILER ALERT.

But, let's be honest ... most 'BiP' fans probs only wanna know why in the world Dean got rid of his classic 'stache. You'll recall he arrived on the show late but quickly got everyone's attention with his new look. Caelynn admitted on the show she wasn't a fan of his facial hair.

Guess we know who won that battle.

At least it appears she's -- finally!!! -- gotten past the whole Blake drama. True 'BiP' fans know all too well how she spilled the Blake tea to everyone and their mama.