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Britney Spears is opening up about the flood of topless photos she's posting, claiming that baring her boobs is all about lightening her load ... and freeing herself from pain of the past.

As you probably know, Britney started sharing a series of revealing shots on her social media just days after she was granted permission to hire her own lawyer for the first time under her conservatorship, and she hasn't let up -- including a Monday evening gallery of shots with a strategically placed rose.

This has led to some concern from her fans -- and some advice from her peers to "be cautious" online -- but Britney explains that going naked on IG is for her own good ... and has made her feel better lately.

She says the meaning of her topless posts is her attempt to reclaim her body after years of feeling self-conscious and embarrassed about how she looked while performing.

Britney says she's felt the weight of the world on her shoulders and wants to "see myself in a lighter way," adding ... "I am a woman …. a beautiful … sensitive woman who needs to look at myself in my purest form !!!"

It all connects to the "Free Britney" movement too, according to Brit, who says ... "There’s a way deeper meaning to the movement than you can ever imagine … my fans have always been so damn amazing and I love you all."

Lil Wayne's never forgotten "Uncle Bob" -- the former New Orleans police officer who saved his life when he attempted suicide at age 12 -- and he's told him he's got his back for life if he ever needs anything.

"Uncle Bob," whose real name is Robert Hoobler, tells TMZ ... he saw Lil Wayne in 2019 when the rapper was in NOLA for a radio show, and that's when Wayne offered to provide Bob with financial support if he ever needed it, telling Bob all he has to do is say the word.

Bob says he hasn't taken up Weezy on the generous offer, but there have been talks about him joining Weezy's team in some sort of administrative capacity ... it's still TBD.

If you don't know ... Lil Wayne recently opened up about his mental health struggles as a kid and the incident with "Uncle Bob" when he was 12.

Lil Wayne now admits he intentionally shot himself in the chest -- for years, it was believed to be an accidental shooting -- and Bob was the cop who came to his rescue, refusing to let him die.

Now, all these years later, Wayne's still trying to pay back Bob. It's not the first time he's tried either -- you may recall his 2015 track "London Roads" in which he rapped about Bob saving him, and suggested the ex-cop had died.

But, Bob was still alive ... and says he got in touch with Wayne to let him know all reports or rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated.

Lady Gaga's dog walker is trekking across the country to try and heal his emotional wounds from the horrifying shooting ... and he says he's fallen on hard times.

Ryan Fischer says he's 2 months into a 6-month journey across America, which he's calling a sabbatical, but now he's crowdfunding ... because he says his van broke down and he needs money for travel expenses.

He says he's been relying on donations after blowing through his savings, and he's not just looking for money ... he's also asking folks to recommend retreats for trauma, plus queer spiritual leaders and healers.

Ryan says he's felt scared, lonely, abandoned and unsupported during his first 2 months on the road ... adding that he's had long bouts of depression, doubt and self-pity.

TMZ broke the story ... Ryan was shot back in February as robbers made off with Lady Gaga's French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav ... leaving Ryan bleeding on the sidewalk and screaming for help.

The dogs were ultimately found unharmed, and the LAPD later arrested 5 suspects for the attempted murder and dog heist.

Ryan says he had to get out of Hollywood, where he "fought for my life and mobility" after getting shot, and now he's devoted to strengthening his emotional and mental health.

Lizzo is once again batting off haters who have nothing but mean things to say about her -- but this time, it's truly gotten to her ... 'cause she's in tears on camera.

The singer went live Sunday and broke down over what she says is growing negativity aimed in her direction following the release of her and Cardi B's new song, "Rumors," which Lizzo says amounts to fat-shaming, racism and accusations of catering to white audiences.

Lizzo says that despite trying to put positive energy in the world through her music or posts or whatever, she feels like she oftentimes receives more hatred back than love ... and while she notes that she's got thick skin for that type of thing, it's weighing on her hard now.

She makes a valid point -- namely, that if you're not into her music or persona or anything else about her artistry, just change the dial to something else ... instead, however, Lizzo says she's been noticing people going out of their way to belittle her, and she can't make sense of it.

This is nothing new for her -- Lizzo's dealt with this type of hate since splashing onto the scene, and she's usually pretty good about telling people to kick rocks. She ends doing that here as well, but this video is truly a peek at how hard all the trash-talking is hitting her armor ... and heartbreaking, to say the least. Even Cardi felt compelled to speak up.

She writes, "When you stand up for yourself they claim your problematic & sensitive. When you don’t they tear you apart until you crying like this. Whether you skinny,big,plastic, they going to always try to put their insecurities on you. Remember these are nerds looking at the popular table." Other celebs have come to her defense as well, including Chloe Bailey.

Lizzo says she's going to start focusing on the positive and ignore hate messages she might read about herself on social media and elsewhere -- TBH, that sounds like a great idea.

Usher took major heat earlier this year after being accused of throwing fake money at real strippers -- but when you see this ... his so-called "bucks" are A-OK in context.

Check out these videos taken from one of Usher's Vegas residency shows from this past weekend -- during which an exotic dancer took the stage (and the entire building) by storm after performing a pole routine during Mr. Raymond's "Bad Girl" ... with a club-like set in tow.

The woman's name is Isis (the Goddess) ... and she's half naked on the pole, doing all sorts of flips and tricks in the air, while also twerking and knocking her boots ON BEAT at the same time -- this while Usher and the rest of his fellow performers look on and throw some kinda green her way. Some have speculated that, yes, they might be Ush bucks.

It's all part of the performance for that track, it seems, with the stage design made to be part of a larger set piece highlighting the "Bad Girl" narrative Usher's singing about. So, in this setting -- where the dancing isn't "real," per se -- it's NBD to throw his phony cash. Right???

WRONG!!! Or so it seems, anyway, based on some Twitter users' reaction to the clip -- which has since gone viral -- who *seem* to actually be upset that this gal might've been getting funny money thrown at her instead of real bills ... even though she's in on the show.

Whether the so-called outrage over this is sincere or not -- we can easily weigh in and say, the idea of being mad that this dancer wasn't collecting real greenbacks during the show is utterly outrageous. Because, frankly, she's probably collecting way more for her role BTS.

Of course, it's quite possible people are simply giving Usher a hard time (in jest) because of the brief controversy from a few months ago, where a stripper who wasn't part of his show claimed he'd thrown Ush bucks her way instead of real dough ... which he refuted.

Mike Dean had the whole music world thinking he might've abandoned ship on Kanye West's forever-delayed album -- but the guy says he seeing it through, despite some weird tweets.

The legendary producer and hitmaker was the subject of a lot of conjecture over the past 24 hours due to what people perceived as warnings signs that things were amiss between him and Ye ... and the whole creative process behind "Donda" -- which still isn't out yet.

Mike had tweeted things like "F*** IT" ... and later responded to a fan who suggested Kanye's entire rollout for this is unhealthy by saying, "Toxic. That's It." He was also posting photos of himself outside, and people took that to mean he'd finally escaped KW's bunker.

After rumors swirled that he peaced out and left "Donda" behind ... the dude finally cleared the air, telling followers that he hadn't quit anything -- and that work on the album continues.

As for all the "toxic" stuff ... Mike has also since clarified that he's mostly talking about incessant fans who are badgering him about the release date, suggesting they themselves are the toxic ones. With that said, he also seems to think the Mercedes-Benz Stadium air might be a little poisonous too, and is just happy to be stretching his legs a bit.

BTW, Mike hasn't been held hostage there by any means -- he's made a point to address that as well in recent weeks.

Still, it has been a long and arduous journey to get this record out -- and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight at this point as Kanye continues to hole up in the stadium and burn the midnight oil to tinker with the final product. This, of course, after TWO listening events.

During the latest offering this month, Kanye was seen talking to someone on the phone ... right in the middle of the performance. Dean said it was actually him Ye was talking to ... apparently, over some sort of mixing request, Kanye wanted addressed then and there.

YNW Melly is facing a possible death penalty as he sits in prison awaiting trial for murder, but he's passing the time by producing an album behind bars.

Sources close to YNW Melly tell TMZ ... the rapper had been working on "Just a Matter of Slime" for the better part of the last 8 months. We're told he spent hours and hours on the phone ... securing collabs with other rappers like Young Thug, Future and Lil Uzi Vert. He's also spent lots of time talking to sound engineers.

Our sources say YNW recorded his verses long before he was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder over the shooting deaths of 2 friends.

YNW has been locked up since February 2019 ... and while he awaits trial in Broward County, Florida -- where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty -- the rapper's been grinding.

We're told YNW has been listening to arrangements of his music and giving engineers direction on tweaking the vocals.

The rapper hopped on the phone Thursday and someone from his team recorded him from prison ... promoting his new album. We're not sure how well that's gonna go over with the warden.

As for the meaning behind the album title ... here's the story -- YNW had been unable to get a trial date for the murder case due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the courts.

Korn pulled the plug on their concert Saturday night with a vague disclosure ... someone "within the Korn camp" tested positive for COVID.

This is what the band said just hours before the concert was supposed to start ... "Unfortunately, there has been a confirmed COVID-19 case within the Korn camp. The safety of our artists, crew, venue staff, and fans are our top priority, so we must postpone the show tonight."

The concert was supposed to go down at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA.

Korn wants to make good on the concert, saying, "We're deeply sorry for this unfortunate last minute news, but please hold on to your tickets while we work to get your rescheduled date sorted ASAP with Live Nation and the Pavilion at Montage Mountain. Thank you for your understanding, and stay safe out there. We'll be back soon."

Flea had the time, and the honor, of his life at a Native American wedding ... celebrating the nuptials of 2 close friends.

We're told the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist hit up the Earth Lodge on Thursday night at Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in New Town, North Dakota ... where Jocy and Trae Little Sky tied the knot.

Our sources say Flea's wife, Melody Ehsani, is good friends with the couple, and this video we obtained shows Flea having a blast during the intimate ceremony ... dancing his face off to a traditional drum beat. He also picked up a bass and performed with another guest who was singing and playing guitar.

Flea posted on Instagram a picture of the couple at the altar and captioned it, "Humbled by the infinite sacred beauty of it all! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ @jocy.bird." He also posted several pics and videos proclaiming his love for North Dakota.

Pretty cool moment when Jocy and Trea were accompanied by their 7-year-old daughter, Ataya, and 5-year-old son, Tokala, as they all walked down the aisle.

Lizzo says she name-dropped Drake in her new song to turn the tables on an age-old trope of rappers doing the same for women -- but it seems she's actually trying to bang the dude.

The singer told Zane Lowe she mentioned Drizzy on her new song, "Rumors," because she felt it'd be fun to give society a taste of its own medicine -- and in this context, that means flipping the script on rappers/male musicians name-dropping fine women in their tunes.

If you didn't hear the bar yet, it goes ... "Last year, I thought I would losе it // Readin' s*** on the internet // My smoothie cleanse and my diet // No, I ain't f*** Drake yet (Ha)."

The Drake thing seems to have come out of left field ... but Lizzo explained further in the ZL sit-down, jokingly saying she hasn't quite been able to manifest some bedroom boom with Toronto's Certified Lover Boy -- even though it sounds like she'd love to take a dip.

All kidding aside, Lizzo says she included the line as a way to turn what rappers have often done in music -- namely, name-dropping ladies/would-be sexual exploits -- upside down on its head. It's true ... fellas have done that for a long time in the genre ... see Biggie's "Dreams."

As far as their real-life relationship ... Lizzo says she kinda knows Drake, and that he's super cool.

Still, it seems she does, in fact, want some of what he's got -- at least based on her Twitter activity shortly after this interview aired. She tweeted right at Champagne Papi for the whole world to see, writing ... "Hey big head @Drake." Classic "wyd" vibes for modern dating.

Legendary singer Tony Bennett is stepping away from the stage ... he's retiring from performing live and his son says it's because of health issues.

Tony is 95 years old and he's been fighting Alzheimer's Disease since 2016 ... and his son, Danny Bennett, told Variety his famous father is officially retiring from live music and scrapping his 2021 tour dates.

Tony's retirement comes on the heels of his recent sold out shows with Lady Gaga, a two-night event at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, which was dubbed "One Last Time."

TB's son told Variety ... "This was a hard decision for us to to make, as he is a capable performer. This is, however, doctors' orders. His continued health is the most important part of this, and when we heard the doctors -- when Tony's wife, Susan heard them -- she said, 'Absolutely not.' He'll be doing other things, but not those upcoming shows."

The problem for Tony, according to his son, is not the singing aspect of live performances, but the travel.

Tony's son adds ... "Look, he gets tired. The decision is being made that doing concerts now is just too much for him. We don't want him to fall on stage, for instance -- something as simple as that."

Tony is still able to sing, his son says, but the family was worried about the physical toll of traveling on a grueling concert tour.

Jessie Woo's on the rise as a singer and comedian on "Wild 'N Out," and this Whitney Houston bit she did will either make her way more popular, or draw a ton of hate ... just depends.

So, the segment tasked comedians on the show with creating outgoing voice messages impersonating famous people, and Jessie arguably drew the short straw by getting Whitney.

For her impression, Jessie did new lyrics for "I Will Always Love You," and really got the crowd going at first. Hey, she's got a good voice, but as she cruised into the crescendo of the song's chorus ... Jessie dropped a bomb by cutting the song short and saying, "I'm dead," and walking off.

The crowd was stunned, so it begs the question ... too soon???

Whitney died of accidental drowning with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. in February 2012, and, online at least, opinions seem split on whether joking about it should be off-limits.

Many on social media are calling out Jessie's joke for being "lazy," "insensitive," "offensive" and "disrespectful." Others, however, find it hilarious, with one person saying they laugh every time they watch ... even though they're a Whitney fan.

Worth noting -- Jessie posted a tribute to Whitney on her Instagram a few days ago, for what would have been the late singer's 58th birthday. She's really got the pipes to pull it off, too!

Eminem's ex-wife, Kim Scott, was hospitalized following a suicide attempt during which she became combative with law enforcement ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... police and emergency workers responded to a call of a suicidal person at Kim's home in Michigan on July 30.

We're told when they arrived, Kim was so combative she had to be restrained by deputies ... and was so violent, paramedics were unable to check her vitals.

Our sources say it appeared Kim had cut herself, as she had several small lacerations on the back of her leg and a good amount of blood was on the floor.

Kim was rushed to a hospital for both medical and psychological evaluation, but is now back at home and is recovering. It's unclear if she's getting additional care.

The Kid LAROI revealed he's been locked in a room for 7 days because he has COVID ... only to scrub that announcement from his social media a short time later.

The teenage singer revealed the news in a now-edited Instagram caption Monday in which he was celebrating his #1 hit with Justin Bieber, "Stay," and thanking all of his fans for their support.

LAROI, who hails from Australia, wrote that all he ever wanted was to "make it big" in America and show everyone what folks Down Under have to offer.

He then said he hasn't been home in awhile because of COVID, adding ... "which I currently have rn and have been locked in a room for the past 7 days."

The singer quickly deleted that line in his IG caption, but if it's true -- it means he could have performed at the huge July 29 concert at Lollapalooza in Chicago with Miley Cyrus while infected -- or contracted it while at the festival.

We've reached out to LAROI's rep for some clarification ... so far, no word back.

Tank is ecstatic that his early tunes are finally seeing the light of day, officially, alongside Aaliyah's catalog ... this in spite of the drama behind the scenes.

The R&B crooner broke down what this moment means for him Saturday morning when we ran into him at LAX, and he said it quite succinctly ... not only is this a re-introduction to fans (new and old) but it's also an opportunity to make up for lost time ... financially.

Check out his response ... Tank makes no bones about the fact that he's missed out on a lot of dough over the years considering his first 3 albums weren't streaming or on digital platforms. He's not sour over it, but notes a wrong is finally being righted ... and he's glad.

As for Aaliyah's music, and her family's apparent opposition to it being released without their blessing ... Tank says he understands, but that it's perhaps a blessing in disguise -- as he notes, as so many others have, that a whole new generation will get to know her anew.

That acrimony aside, Tank's just happy people will finally get schooled on late '90s/early 2000s R&B ... a chapter from which he DID exist pre-2010 -- and cranked out great music.

Dennis "D.T." Thomas -- Kool & The Gang's longtime saxophone player -- has died.

The band announced the news Saturday, saying he passed away peacefully at his home in New Jersey. No cause of death was revealed.

They had kind words for their dear friend, though, writing ... "An original member of Kool & The Gang, Dennis was known as the quintessential cool cat in the group, loved for his hip clothes and hats, and his laid-back demeanor."

K&TG added this ... "A huge personality while also an extremely private person, Dennis was the alto saxophone player, flutist, percussionist as well as master of ceremonies at the band’s shows." They went on to discuss some of his greatest moments with Kool and co., including his prologue solo on their '71 hit "Who's Gonna Take the Weight."

Another fun fact -- the dude was actually their stylist, so says the band. Apparently, he crunched numbers for them too -- they say, "In the band’s early days, Dennis also served as the 'budget hawk,' carrying the group’s earnings in a paper bag in the bell of his horn."

Like they mentioned, Dennis was a founding member ... having helped form the band in the '60s, and staying with them ever since. He's been along for the ride through five decades plus.

D.T. was one of three founding members still alive before today -- now, there are only 2. He was 70.