Bones (rapper)

Elmo Kennedy O'Connor (born January 11, 1994), known professionally as Bones (stylized sometimes as BONES), is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Howell, Michigan. He is also the founder of the music collective TeamSESH.

Bones
Bones performing in 2018
Bones performing in 2018
Background information
Birth nameElmo Kennedy O'Connor
Also known as
  • Th@ Kid
  • Ricky a Go Go
  • Surrenderdorothy
  • Oregontrail
Born (1994-01-11) January 11, 1994
Muir Beach, California, U.S.
OriginHowell, Michigan, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2010–present
LabelsTeamSESH
Member of
  • Seshollowaterboyz
  • Surrenderdorothy
  • Oregontrail
Children1
Websiteteamsesh.com
Spouse(s)
Samantha O'Connor
(m. 2023)

O'Connor is known for his pioneering work in sub-genres of hip-hop referred to as emo rap[3] and trap metal.[2] Since 2010, O'Connor has released an extensive discography and developed a large fan base. As of 2019, he has released over 80 albums, mixtapes and EPs across several aliases.

Early life

Elmo Kennedy O'Connor was born in Marin County, California,[4] to a mother who designed clothing and a father who was a web designer. His maternal grandfather was actor Robert Culp.[5] His family lived in Muir Beach, California, before moving to New York City. When O'Connor was seven years old, his family moved to Howell, Michigan.[6] O'Connor also lived in Minnesota for two years when he was thirteen. Around this time he met fellow artists Xavier Wulf, Chris Travis, and Eddy Baker online. The four artists would later come together to form the collective Seshollowaterboyz.[7]

When he was 16, he dropped out of Howell High School and moved to Los Angeles, where his brother and current manager, Elliott, had already been living.[8] Despite moving away from his parents at a young age, O'Connor speaks positively of them, stating, "If I tried to write a book about, 'oh, what would be dream parents?', I couldn't even make anything better than them. All they do is shower me in love. Unconditional love, forever."[9] O'Connor describes Howell as a "mundane" place where its residents are "born and they die there",[9][7] also calling it "one of the most racist towns in Michigan".[10]

Musical career

O'Connor first started making music at the age of nine after his father purchased an iMac G3. He would download hip hop instrumentals from SoundClick and use the computer's built-in microphone to record himself rapping, though it wasn't until 2010 at the age of 16 that he would start releasing music online under the alias "Th@ Kid". After moving to Los Angeles, O'Connor connected with other artists he met online including Xavier Wulf, Chris Travis, and Eddy Baker, who at the time were members of the now semi-disbanded Raider Klan.[7] He later officially changed his stage name to Bones in 2012.

On July 4, 2012, O'Connor released his eponymous debut album under the alias Bones. From 2012 to 2014 he released 12 albums[11] before gaining journalistic attention for his 2014 album TeenWitch, which gained controversy for its themes based around the Columbine High School Massacre.[12][13][14] The album following TeenWitch, titled Garbage, was released on June 9, 2014, and was the first of O'Connor's albums to gain the attention of major music publications such as Complex Magazine[15] and The Fader[16] who labelled the project as "massive" and "boundary-pushing."[17] In April 2014, O'Connor, along with TeamSESH producer Greaf, formed "surrenderdorothy", a side project that is notably less focused on rap, with a stronger focus on acoustic guitar and singing, with stylistic similarities to indie rock and emo rap. Although O'Connor does experiment with this style in his solo work, surrenderdorothy features it much more predominantly. Since 2014, the duo have released six EPs as surrenderdorothy.

O'Connor uploaded several albums in 2015[18][19][20][21] and headlined his first sold-out show at House of Blues on March 4, 2015[22][23] before opening for electronic artist Shlohmo at The Fonda Theatre.[24] O'Connor was later featured on ASAP Rocky's "Canal St.", which was a remix of O'Connor's song "Dirt". The song later became O'Connor's first feature on the Billboard charts.[25][26] Bones performed "Canal St." with ASAP Rocky on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show, but was cut from the TV broadcast due to his refusal to censor some of the song's lyrics while performing. Videos of the performance were made available online.[27][28] In May 2015, O'Connor and Greaf started releasing songs under a second side project called Oregontrail. The project is stylistically similar to Surrenderdorothy, but has been noted as having a "darker" and "rougher" tone. It also follows a loose narrative related to the game of the same name which is also reflected in the artwork of the singles. Since 2015, the duo have released seven singles as Oregontrail.

O'Connor released 10 albums between 2015 and 2017.[11] In 2016, he began releasing music under a new persona called Ricky A Go Go. He uploaded five tracks in total to a SoundCloud account for this persona with the fifth one being uploaded in 2017. There's a running joke in the description for each track as each one is the single for an album of a different name. None of these albums have released. These tracks have a disco, funk, or synthwave production style with sung vocals. There is a sixth track titled "Countdown" that is not on this account but has been uploaded by several other users. This track comes from the track "SeshRadio: Volume3" which is the final track on his PaidProgramming2 project. This was the official debut of the persona. The Ricky A Go Go persona has made appearances on multiple other tracks in the Bones discography on various projects, most prominently the collaboration project DamagedGoods with Drew The Architect. However, a majority of these tracks still credit Bones as the artist.

On January 19, 2018, O'Connor performed in KOKO, London, thus starting his first ever European tour, called the Deadboy Tour.[29] It took him to countries such as Germany, Ukraine, Russia and Italy.

O'Connor is a founding member of the collective Seshollowaterboyz, along with Xavier Wulf and Eddy Baker, with whom he often performs and collaborates.[30][31] The name of the collective is a mash-up of their self-releasing labels TeamSESH, Hollow Squad. Waterboyz and Healthy Boyz. They have performed at notable venues such as The Observatory in Santa Ana, California on November 13, 2015 [32] and The Novo by Microsoft in Los Angeles on January 30, 2016.[33] Chris Travis was a founding member of the group but left in 2019.

Musical style and influences

Although O'Connor is often considered to be one of the pioneers of the emo rap sub-genre, O'Connor has said that he has no specific genre, though has been characterized as cloud rap, experimental hip-hop and "shadow rap".[34][35][31] O'Connor's earlier music is a lot more futuristic (and is often compared to SpaceGhostPurrp's[36]) than his current music, which showcases production and vocal styles ranging from rapping, singing, and screaming.[3] O'Connor's singing has been compared to grunge and emo, while his rapping has been compared sub-genres such as horrorcore and emo rap.[37] He is also considered an early pioneer of trap metal.[2]

O'Connor rarely talks about his musical influences, although during interviews he has mentioned Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind and Fire, Bootsy Collins, Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell as influences.[34] Over the years of his music career, O'Connor helped underground hip hop develop into new styles and has been noted as "one of the most influential underground artists of the internet age".[9]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums shown
WhiteRapper
(as Th@ Kid)
TypicalRapShit
(as Th@ Kid)
  • Released: September 26, 2012
  • Labels: Self Released
  • Formats: digital download
BLVCKNWHITE
(as Th@ Kid, with Grandmilly)
  • Released: November 21, 2012
  • Labels: Self Released
  • Formats: digital download
Bones
  • Released: December 1, 2012
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
LivingLegend
  • Released: February 1, 2013
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
Saturn
  • Released: February 23, 2013
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
Teenager
  • Released: March 31, 2013
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
ダサい (Lame)
(with Xavier Wulf)
  • Released: June 6, 2013
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
Creep
  • Released: June 8, 2013
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
Scumbag
  • Released: August 8, 2013
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Cracker
  • Released: September 28, 2013
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
PaidProgramming
  • Released: November 1, 2013
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
UndergroundGods
(with Na$ty Matt)
  • Released: November 26, 2013
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
DeadBoy
  • Released: January 1, 2014
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
TeenWitch
  • Released: February 24, 2014
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Garbage
  • Released: June 8, 2014
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Skinny
  • Released: September 1, 2014
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Rotten
  • Released: December 2, 2014
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
SongsThatRemindYouOfHome
(with Dylan Ross)
  • Released: February 13, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH, Handzum
  • Formats: digital download
Powder
  • Released: April 11, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Banshee
  • Released: August 23, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
HermitOfEastGrandRiver
  • Released: November 30, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Useless
  • Released: February 7, 2016
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
PaidProgramming2
  • Released: July 24, 2016
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
GoodForNothing
  • Released: October 16, 2016
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
SoftwareUpdate1.0
  • Released: November 5, 2016
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Disgrace
  • Released: January 11, 2017
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Unrendered
  • Released: April 20, 2017
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
NoRedeemingQualities
  • Released: June 16, 2017
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Failure
  • Released: October 2, 2017
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Carcass (СКЕЛЕТ)
  • Released: December 23, 2017
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Augmented
(with cat soup)
  • Released: April 20, 2018
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
LivingSucks
  • Released: August 13, 2018
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
TheManInTheRadiator
  • Released: November 1, 2018
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
SparrowsCreek
(with Eddy Baker)
  • Released: February 11, 2019
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
UnderTheWillowTree
  • Released: May 3, 2019
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
KickingTheBucket
  • Released: August 30, 2019
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
IFeelLikeDirt
  • Released: November 29, 2019
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
OFFLINE
  • Released: February 24, 2020
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
BRACE
(with Xavier Wulf)
  • Released: March 2, 2020
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
DamagedGoods
(with drew the architect)
  • Released: April 20, 2020
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
REMAINS
(with Lyson)
  • Released: May 30, 2020
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
FromBeyondTheGrave
  • Released: November 6, 2020
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
BURDEN
  • Released: January 29, 2021
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
PushingUpDaisies
(with Deergod)
  • Released: March 23, 2021
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
InLovingMemory
  • Released: June 18, 2021
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
ForbiddenImage
(with Cat Soup)
  • Released: October 15, 2021
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
SCRAPS
(with Lyson)
  • Released: November 26, 2021
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Withered
(with grayera)
  • Released: April 29, 2022
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
AmericanSweetheart
  • Released: July 6, 2022
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
DreamCard (with ghost/\/ghoul)
  • Released: September 13, 2022
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
2MillionBlunts
  • Released: October 31, 2022
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
TheWitch&TheWizard (with GREAF)
  • Released: March 10, 2023
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
JonesPeak (with Eddy Baker)
  • Released: April 14, 2023
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
BasketCase
  • Released: August 25, 2023
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming

EPs

List of EPs shown
Dreamcatcher
(as Th@ Kid)
  • Released: June 2, 2011
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
Attaboy
(as Th@ Kid)
  • Released: August 4, 2011
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
Midnight:12 AM
(as Th@ Kid)
  • Released: October 14, 2011
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
Caves
(with Xavier Wulf)
SeaBeds
(with Chris Travis)
  • Released: January 29, 2014
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
WeNeverAskedForThis
(as Surrenderdorothy)
  • Released: April 27, 2014
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download
NobodyWantsMe
(as Surrenderdorothy)
  • Released: July 24, 2014
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
ItsTheLeastWeCanDo
(as Surrenderdorothy)
  • Released: November 9, 2014
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
SoThereWeStood
  • Released: January 5, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
ItsTheThoughtThatCounts
(as Surrenderdorothy)
  • Released: February 9, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
YouShouldHaveSeenYourFace
  • Released: May 20, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
HateToBreakItToYou
(with Drip-133)
  • Released: June 8, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Frayed
  • Released: September 26, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
ItsDifferentNow
(as Surrenderdorothy)
  • Released: November 7, 2015
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
Slán
  • Released: January 2, 2016
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
NetworkUnknown
  • Released: November 1, 2017
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
BreathingExercise
(as Surrenderdorothy)
  • Released: March 30, 2018
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming
PermanentFrown
(with CurtisHeron)
  • Released: July 2, 2018
  • Labels: TeamSESH
  • Formats: digital download, streaming

Singles

  • "The Whisper of Sweet Nothings" (2016)
  • "On the Run" (2016)
  • "You Are My Everything" (2016)
  • "Every Night" (2016)
  • "Stranger" (2017)
  • "You Know I Want You" (2017)
  • "Death Train" (2021)

Mixtapes

  • NobodyWantsMe (2014)
  • breathingexercise (2018)
  • ItsDifferentNow (2018)
  • ItsTheLeastWeCanDo (2018)
  • justwhatthedoctorordered (2019)
  • julyrent (2019)
  • thishouseisnotahome (2023)

Singles

  • "Human for a Day" (2014)
  • "It All Comes Together in the Final Act" (2015)
  • "Sitting in the Car" (2016)
  • "No Place Like Home" (2016)
  • "Sometimes I Don't Understand" (2016)
  • "Like the Back of My Hand" (2016)
  • "Caught between the Seats" (2016)
  • "What Great Eyes You Have" (2017)
  • "Drop Everything" (2018)

Singles

  • "Goodbye for Now"
  • "If All Else Fails"
  • "We Have Been Keeping Quite Busy"
  • "I Admit, It Has Not Been Easy"
  • "Till the Whites of My Eyes Dry Out"
  • "We Fought the Good Fight"
  • "Ford the River"
  • "Second Hand Pain"

Mixtapes

  • A Day At the Getty
  • Young Dumb Fuck
  • 1 Million Blunts

Compilations

  • Marble

Singles

  • "Slaughta"

References

  1. "Delving Past Yung Lean and Deeper Into the World of Sad Rap". Noisey. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  2. JAMIESON, BRII (23 May 2018). "This is Trap Metal". Kerrang!.
  3. "How Bones Built A Cult Rap Community". The FADER. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  4. "Elmo O'Connor Birth Records | MooseRoots". birth-records.mooseroots.com. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  5. Bell, Max (2014-01-02). "L.A. Rapper Bones Has Some of the Eeriest Videos in the Music Business, and a Sound All His Own". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  6. Dazed (2017-09-07). "BONES on record labels, being beaten up & living meme kids". Dazed. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  7. Kinda Neat (2017-06-22), KINDA NEAT EPISODE 73: SESHOLLOWATERBOYZ, retrieved 2018-06-23
  8. "L.A. Rapper Bones Has Some of the Eeriest Videos in the Music Business, and a Sound All His Own". LA Weekly. January 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  9. Thomas-Hansard, Artemis (2017-09-07). "Meet BONES, Underground Rap King". Dazed. Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  10. "RECRUITED: Bones". Masked Gorilla. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  11. Hans (2014-06-10). "I'm in hell: BONES aka "Th@ Kid" Complete Discography (All Albums, Mixtapes, Etc.) FREE DOWNLOAD". I'm in hell. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  12. "TeenWitch by Bones–Glorifying Suicide or a Work of Art?". English Project. 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  13. Gamino, Chris, BONES Targets Columbine on Latest Mixtape "TeenWitch", archived from the original on 2018-06-23, retrieved 2018-06-23
  14. "NEW MIXTAPE: Bones - TEENWITCH". Masked Gorilla. Archived from the original on 2019-09-13. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  15. "Download Los Angeles Rapper Bones' "Garbage" Mixtape". PigeonsandPlanes. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  16. "Download LA-via-Michigan Rapper Bones' Massive Garbage Mixtape". The FADER. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  17. "NEW MIXTAPE: Bones - Garbage". Masked Gorilla. Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  18. "Download Bones' New Mixtape "Skinny"". PigeonsandPlanes. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  19. "Listen to Bones' 'Powder' Mixtape". PigeonsandPlanes. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  20. "Stream Bones' New EP, 'YouShouldHaveSeenYourFace'". Masked Gorilla. Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  21. "Bones - YouShouldHaveSeenYourFace (EP)". HYPEBEAST. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  22. "Elliott O'Connor - Twitter". Twitter. March 5, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  23. "Elliott O'Connor - Twitter". Twitter. March 5, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  24. "Shlohmo - Twitter". Twitter. March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  25. "Track-by-track Review: A$AP Rocky's At.Long.Last.A$AP | Coog Radio". coogradio.com. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  26. "A$AP Rocky Canal St. Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  27. Strauss, Matthew (September 18, 2015). "A$AP Rocky Performs "Electric Body" With Schoolboy Q, "Canal St." With Bones on "Kimmel"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  28. Montes, Patrick (September 2015). "A$AP Rocky Brings Out Bones for 'Jimmy Kimmel' Performance". Hypetrak. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  29. "Deadboy Tour". Archived from the original on 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
  30. "Inside Game: Bones and the weird world of internet rap". San Antonio Current. June 10, 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  31. "Delving Past Yung Lean and Deeper Into The World of Sad Rap". August 1, 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-13.
  32. "Seshollowaterboyz (11pm Show!) | Observatory". www.observatoryoc.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  33. "Seshollowaterboyz (Bones, Xavier Wulf, Chris Travis, Eddy Baker) Club Nokia Jan 30, 2016 - LA HIP HOP EVENTS". LA HIP HOP EVENTS. 2015-12-19. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  34. Dazed (2017-09-07). "BONES on record labels, being beaten up & living meme kids". Dazed. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  35. "Delving Past Yung Lean and Deeper Into the World of Sad Rap". Noisey. 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  36. "RECRUITED: Bones". Masked Gorilla. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  37. "Album Download: Bones - Garbage | RESPECT". respect-mag.com. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
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