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A punk rock band made of four ethnically diverse girls is on its way to producing its first professional record -- 'cause they just got signed ... this after a kickass performance.

The band is called The Linda Lindas, and it features four pre-teen/teenage girls -- aged 10 to 16 -- who describe themselves as "Half Asian/Half Latinx" ... and who rocked the house so hard earlier this month at the L.A. Public Library that landed them a deal with a major label.

Variety confirmed The LLs had been signed to Epitaph Records -- which has had quite the repertoire of rock acts in its roster over the years ... including Green Day, Weezer, Rancid, The Offspring, Pennywise, Bad Religion and scores of other legendary punk bands.

Now, the Linda Lindas are part of that mix -- although the details of their contract aren't out yet. In any case, it's a helluva achievement ... and it's all due to a set they put on in early May as part of AAPI Heritage Month, which got tons of love and famous fanfare.

ICYMI ... the Linda Lindas performed a number of original songs at the library, including one called "Racist Sexist Boy" -- the origin of which they explained had to do with the increased Asian hate that's been rocking the nation of late. To vent, they came up with this banger.

Morgan Wallen's starting to get back to performing after his n-word controversy, while seemingly snubbing an organization we're told he'd pledged to meet with ... the NAACP in Nashville.

According to NAACP Nashville President Sheryl Guinn ... after her branch reached out to the country singer in February, she says his team expressed interest in scheduling a sit-down because they claimed he felt terrible about using a racial slur and wanted to make amends.

Guinn tells us both sides agreed to a meeting that was likely to include multiple Black leaders, as well as several people accompanying Morgan ... all they had to do was iron out the details.

However, we're told Wallen's team went silent after that initial phone call, and there's been no effort by Morgan to make it happen ... along with no explanation.

The NAACP Prez says her Nashville chapter never pressured the country star for a face-to-face, but simply wanted to make itself available because he publicly expressed a desire to educate himself. Guinn tells us her hope was to help Wallen become an advocate for Black equality and enlist his fans to do so as well.

To be fair ... shortly after TMZ broke the story that Morgan was recorded by a neighbor casually calling a buddy the n-word, he claimed he'd met with several Black groups that helped him realize how harmful his actions were.

Wallen also stated in April he was taking time to work on himself and would not be adding any tour dates this summer.

As we reported ... he did get back on the stage this week in Nashville at Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk bar in front of what looked like a packed house.

Drake is about to get a huge award and he wants his family close as he receives it.

Billboard will bestow the Artist of the Decade Award on Drizzy Sunday night and it's clearly something that's meaningful to him. His mom, who almost never makes a public appearance, will be front and center as her son accepts the honor ... this according to production sources.

Drake's son, Adonis, will also be in the audience ... watching his dad clutch the award.

The award is a big deal ... previous winners include Mariah Carey in the 1990s and Eminem in the 2000s.

Drake has snagged 27 Billboard Music Awards, and that makes him the record-holder. He received 12 in 2019 alone. As accomplished as he is, Drake was stoked to dine with his idol ... Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers. Drake said he was "high on life" after dining with Ron.

BTW ... Nick Jonas will host the event, which airs on NBC at 8 PM.

The only thing bigger for Drake might be a chance to play for the Raptors.

YG's giving away a new sneaker he says caters to the streets ... hooking up a group of former inmates who just got back to the streets.

The rapper hit up Amity Foundation House Friday in downtown L.A. to give away pairs of his Block Runner sneakers to men who have just been released on parole after serving their sentences. They're staying at the foundation while getting back on their feet.

YG tells TMZ ... it's important for these men to have the things they need to become contributing members of society again, and it starts with something folks use every day ... shoes.

It's a pretty grand gesture from YG ... his 4Hunnids footwear brand, The Flame, is selling the kicks for a cool $200 and he gave away hundreds of pairs ... worth more than $20,000 total.

Lil Nas X has felt the wrath of Nicki Minaj's diehard fans -- AKA The Barbz -- and he's backing down ... but insists his love for her is real.

Here's what's up -- LNX just dropped a brand new single, "Sun Goes Down," and on the track, he sings about how he found comfort in following Nicki when he was growing up.

The lyrics go -- "I'd be by the phone / Stanning Nicki mornin' into dawn / Only place I felt like I belonged / Strangers make you feel so loved, you know?"

Seems pretty harmless ... but the Barbz came after Lil Nas on Twitter, accusing him of looking for sympathy or dropping her name as a ploy for a future collab.

It didn't take long for him to respond, and though he doesn't apologize, and claims his lyrics and love for Minaj are sincere ... he acknowledges "how it looks" and says he will no longer mention her.

Ozzy Osbourne took a shot in the dark, and it's paying off -- some of the music gear looted from a school with ties to his late pal, Randy Rhoads, has been recovered.

Sources connected to the case tell TMZ ... Randy's first electric guitar and the original Peavey amp used for his "Quiet Riot" album were recovered earlier this week after someone turned them in to police. We're told the items have now been handed over to Randy's family.

Our sources say cops are still investigating how the items were stolen in the first place, and at this point, there have been no arrests.

As for the $25k reward Ozzy offered up to track down the thieves ... our sources say it's unclaimed. We're told the person who turned in the stuff did NOT request the reward.

While at least 2 of the items were returned ... we’re told, sadly, Randy's mother's Great Depression-era trumpet is still MIA along with some of the other items Ozzy mentioned in his post back in December 2019.

As we reported ... the Black Sabbath frontman said the Musonia School of Music in North Hollywood had been broken into and thieves made off with at least 6 items that hold a special place in the heart of Randy's family and his fans.

Lady Gaga says she was never the same after she was raped as a teenager ... explaining the way she underwent a "total psychotic break."

The singer explains the trauma that followed being raped and impregnated at 19 years old in a new series with Oprah and Prince Harry, "The Me You Can't See," saying her body went numb as a result of burying the pain.

Lady Gaga says she was sick for weeks after a producer allegedly threatened to torch her tunes if she didn't take off her clothes, and she says during the incident she froze and basically blacked out.

Gaga says she was vomiting and sick after the rape, which caused her to get pregnant and had lasting effects. She says the trauma caused her to have a "total psychotic break and for a couple years I was not the same girl."

Lady Gaga, who first revealed she was raped back in 2014, did not name her assailant ... but she says she's dealt with self-harm, including throwing herself against a wall and cutting herself.

She says it's been a slow process to regain her mental health and fears she could be easily triggered and slip back into dark thoughts of wanting to cut herself and thinking about dying.

T.I. seems to be letting out his frustrations over sexual assault allegations in his music ... and it sounds like he's going after his accusers.

The Atlanta rapper's dropping a new track in the middle of a criminal investigation by the LAPD ... and it's got some explicit lyrics seemingly aimed at the Jane Doe who told cops he allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her.

T.I. raps ... "Go put yo face and reputation on it // These kind of claims deserve more than anonymous provocative conversation, don't it?"

T.I.'s calling the song "What It's Come To" and towards the end of his verse he raps ... "Willing to face whatever consequences for his vision ... while I'm up against some lyin' a** bitches."

The lyrics are even included on the single's album artwork ... which drops tonight at midnight. The song was produced by Villa Nova & Keepitphilthy.

Morgan Wallen's clawing his way back from the racial slur controversy ... and he's got Kid Rock to thank for getting him back on a stage to perform live.

Morgan was at Kid's Big Ass Honky Tonk bar Wednesday night in Nashville and got on the mic in front of what looked like a packed house. This was his first time singing since he was seen in January casually dropping the n-word at the end of a drunken night with friends, and you can tell he had some nerves.

Of course, the crowd went nuts when Morgan was introduced ... folks were screaming his name as he walked on stage, and almost immediately acknowledged he might be a little rusty.

He seemed to work it all out though ... as he performed a couple of his hits, "Wasted On You" and "Whiskey Glasses."

TMZ broke the story ... Morgan was recorded by a neighbor after a wild night out in Nashville back in January casually calling a buddy the n-word.

The fallout from the video was swift -- award shows, merchandise websites and radio stations banned Wallen. However, his album sales actually skyrocketed and he continued dominating the charts.

Morgan's had folks in his corner in the wake of the controversy ... with billboards popping up last month in Nashville pushing for him to win Entertainer of the Year at the ACM Awards, even though the Academy banned him from the competition.

Courtney Stodden says the non-binary community got a huge ally in their corner when Demi Lovato came out as a member ... and Courtney has zero doubt DL's announcement will save lives going forward.

Courtney tells TMZ ... a celebrity of Demi's caliber coming out as non-binary will help the community feel validated, and make those still struggling to come out feel strong and confident enough to do it -- and that decision, ultimately, could help to prevent suicide.

Courtney -- who also recently came out as non-binary -- says they haven't yet reached out to Demi, because they want to give them space and time during what can be a scary experience ... but Courtney plans to try chatting with Demi about it in the near future.

Courtney knows the importance of young people being able to relate to celebs, especially in a community at risk for suicide.

The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention org for LGBTQ youth, just released a new national study that found LGBTQ youth of color and transgender, along with non-binary youth, have a much higher risk of suicide than their peers.

ABC News recently reported that 42% of LGBT youth surveyed said they considered attempting suicide in the last year alone, and more than HALF that tally was for transgender and non-binary youth.

As we reported ... Demi came out Wednesday saying they are now identifying as non-binary and changed pronouns to they/them.

Demi said the switch best represented the fluidity they feel in gender expression.

Demi Lovato has an announcement about their personal life -- as they launch something new professionally -- and it's that Demi now identifies as non-binary, and therefore they're changing pronouns.

The singer revealed Wednesday they are happy to share the very personal moment on their "4D with Demi Lovato" podcast. Demi said, "Over the past year and a half I've been doing some healing and some self-reflective work. And through this work I've had the revelation that I identify as non-binary. With that said, I’ll officially be changing my pronouns to they/them."

Demi went on to say changing their identification best represents the fluidity they feel in their gender expression ... while allowing them to feel most authentic and true.

The singer's first episode will explore how excited they are and what this change means. They will also explore what it may look like for other people going through the same journey.

As we've reported ... the "Sorry Not Sorry" hitmaker recently shared their personal struggles with mental health and addiction in the stunning YouTube documentary "Dancing with the Devil," which followed their journey prior to and following a near-fatal overdose in 2018.

Kurt Cobain's golden locks are worth more than gold ... a few strands of his hair just sold for five figures at a rock and roll auction.

The winning bid for the late Nirvana frontman's hair came in at a cool $14,145 ... and that's just for 6 strands!!!

As you can see, Kurt's blonde hair is preserved under plastic about the size of a trading card, and the auction house, Iconic Auctions, says the longest strand checks in at about 2.5 inches.

These few slivers of music history come from a 1989 haircut Kurt got while Nirvana was on the famous "Bleach" tour.

The winning bidder's also taking home these pictures of Kurt's haircut. He got the trim from his friend, Tessa Osbourne, and posed for a smiling snap with the scissors still in her hand.

Kurt's hair has been on quite a journey ... the haircut happened in Birmingham, England and Tessa kept the locks in a bag until she gave it to Seattle artist Nicole DePolo after Kurt's death.

DePolo passed the hair along to John Reznikoff, who has a Guinness world record for "largest collection of historic hair," and it finally hit the auction block this month.

Lady Gaga's dog walker is getting back in the saddle after his near-death experience ... he's walking her French Bulldogs again after putting his life on the line for them.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Gaga's dog walker, Ryan Fischer, is back on the job less than 3 months after nearly losing his life while taking her pups for a late-night stroll.

He stopped by her home Friday afternoon in L.A. -- bearing gifts and looking pretty healthy in the wake of his lengthy hospital stay after the shooting and dognapping incident

Although they weren't spotted with him on Friday, we're told he's walking the dogs during the day now ... a departure from the nighttime walk that ended in gunfire and the suspects making off with Koji and Gustav.

The only measure of comfort Ryan can take is that cops say the suspects were not targeting the dogs because they were Gaga's.

TMZ broke the story ... 3 alleged dognappers are charged with attempted murder and robbery and 2 others have been hit with accessory charges.

Remember ... Gaga put out a $500,000 reward after the February 24 dognapping, which cops believe was carried out by a dog-stealing ring, and she eventually got her dogs back safely after they were left tied up in an alley and a woman called the number Gaga posted.

The woman who "found" the pups was also arrested, according to law enforcement sources, because police were suspicious of her from the start.

Ryan, meanwhile, was hospitalized for several weeks and even had part of a lung removed ... but he's looking great now.

Saweetie says the rash of violence against Asian Americans that's stirring fear across the country has affected her family as well ... but she's aiming to put a stop to the hate she believes is at the root of it.

The "Fast (Motion)" rapper joined "TMZ Live" Monday to discuss Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month ... which is perhaps more important than ever as hate crimes against Asian Americans have risen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saweetie -- who's of Filipino and Chinese descent -- explains how the widespread violence has hit close to home ... especially the video of the elderly Asian woman getting randomly attacked in NYC.

She tells us that could have very well been her own grandmother, and says incidents like that have caused concern among families just like hers.

The bright side, according to Saweetie, is she believes the age of social media is opening people's eyes to how rampant this problem is ... and she's doing her part to raise awareness too.

She'll be performing with Jhene Aiko on Friday for the AAPI Heritage Month special, "See Us Unite for Change" ... hosted by Ken Jeong and featuring appearances by Daniel Dae Kim, Lisa Ling and more.

Janet Jackson screams cash ... $125,000 in cold, hard cash!!!

The outfit Janet wore in the "Scream" music video just fetched $125k at auction.

It was part of Julien's Auctions event, titled, "Iconic Treasures From the legendary Career and Life of Janet Jackson."  Janet turned over 1,000 items from her life to Julien's, and it coincided with her 55th birthday.

As for the getup ... we'll use the auction's description -- "A black circular "bubble" textured fabric long-sleeve shirt by Dexter Wong, a pair of black patent leather pants, and a pair of black patent leather over-the-ankle chunky low-heel boots."

The outfit was featured in the 1995 music vid which was a huge hit.

Compassion International, an org that fights child poverty, will get a cut of the action.

Other treasures brought in big bucks, like her floor-length metallic silver coat with lambskin shearling lining, cuffs and collar ... which sold for $50,000.  And there was her silver strink bikini and matching pants which commanded $25,600.

And there's more ... Her jacket from the 1990 Rhythm Nation Tour and 1814 cap and black satin gloves fetched $81,250. And get this ... a pair of earrings Oprah Winfrey presented to Janet Jackson at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball in May 2005 were up for auction. The earrings are in a sterling silver case engraved "A Bridge to Now" on the top and "JJ" on the front and housed in a red leather presentation box.

A piece of Janet's life sure ain't cheap, but clearly worth it.

Fat Joe seems to think DJ Khaled is the "Quincy Jones of hip-hop" -- but a lot more people seem to think he's dead wrong ... and outright disrespecting the legendary record producer.

Joe made the inflammatory comment this week while chopping it up with N.O.R.E. on his 'Drink Champs' podcast ... talking about the new Jay-Z/Nas song "Sorry Not Sorry" that appears on Khaled's latest album, "Khaled Khaled."

They were gassing up the song -- rightfully so, it's solid -- but then FJ turned the focus back onto DJK ... saying the guy really doesn't get enough credit for what he does.

Joe said people believe all Khaled does is get the biggest names in hip-hop/pop and throw them together on catchy songs -- but he insists there's a lot more to it than that, as several other DJs/producers attempt to do the same time and again and don't get the same results.

Then came Joe's hot take ... saying Khaled's the Quincy of the rap game, and A LOT of people were NOT having it. Joe caught wind of the backlash, however, and tried clarifying a bit.

He writes, "All these back seat drivers Monday morning quarterbacks always got an opinion but can’t do it themselves shit crazy." Joe adds, "To me the term Quincy jones of this time was used in reference to the work khaled has put in years and years of hit obviously there’s only one Quincy but f*ck it tune in tonight EXPLOSIVE lol."

The reason folks are pissed for the comparison is because, well, DJ Khaled doesn't make his own beats ... which isn't a secret either, BTW. He mostly curates, collecting tracks he likes ... and ad-libbing his famous lines over them while getting his music industry pals to feature.