6.3.2022

Audio: BONES & Drew The Architect – “PackRippedOpen“

The Prolific Underground Legend and the Respected TeamSESH Beatmaker Connect For the First Time Since 2020’s Fan Favorite DamagedGoods Album

Critical Praise:

“The Michigan-born rapper was one of the earliest and most influential artists to rise through the SoundCloud ranks in the early 2010s thanks to a truly unique aesthetic, an aura of mystery and a sound that would go on to be mimicked by his genre for years to come.” – HYPEBEAST

‘Already one of the most influential artists in rap and the SoundCloud underground, Bones shows no signs of slowing down.” – HYPEBEAST

“O’Connor’s short tracks, creepy videos, and one-word tweets rack up millions of social media interactions from a cult following that helped him sell out shows in 25 cities on a recent tour. The hip-hop elite is taking notice.” – The FADER

“Elmo Kennedy O’Connor was in pre-school when he became obsessed with the Southern artists of No Limit and Cash Money. Later in life, he would adopt the rap moniker Bones and amass a significant cult following. His gothic lyrical style, allergy to songs longer than two and a half minutes, and lo-fi visual aesthetic have convinced a quarter million people to subscribe to the SoundCloud page of his rap collective, TeamSESH.” – HotNewHipHop

The Song:

Whether he’s emoting over snaking guitars or snapping lockstep triplet flows over horrorcore production, underground overlord BONES follows his muse wherever it leads. Shifting into melodic mode for a heartsick new single, BONES shares “PackRippedOpen,” a new single. “PackRippedOpen” is BONES’ latest collaboration with Drew The Architect, a producer in BONES’ TeamSESH collective, who soaks his arpeggiated guitars with chorus and his crisp snares in copious reverb to create a dreamlike, floating instrumental. Taking inspiration from the rhythmic soft-loud delivery of midwest emo singers, the Michigan native struggles to keep his feelings in check, attempting to articulate his deep love for the song’s subject: “How far I’ll really go, oh oh/For you to feel safe and sound.”

“PackRippedOpen” marks BONES and Drew The Architect’s first collaboration since DamagedGoods, a fan-favorite album from 2020. Home to songs like “PvP” and “Charcoal Hearts,” DamagedGoods takes inspiration from ’80s goth and new wave, mixing in BONES’ Memphis-style bangers with songs that would fit easily on a Depeche Mode album. Each collaboration between BONES and Drew is hotly anticipated by the TeamSESH community–Drew is an accomplished underground figure in his own right, producing songs for XXXTentacion, Xavier Wulf, Corbin, and many others.

The new collaboration with Drew The Architect continues a characteristically prolific year for BONES. In April, the underground hero shared Withered, a full-length project. Created in collaboration with TeamSESH producer grayera, Withered finds BONES alternating between laid-back yet emotional anthems and commanding, verbally blunt bangers, including the emotionally charged lead single “TheOne.” Before Withered, BONES connected with longtime TeamSESH member ghost/\/ghoul to drop “Silverado,” notable because ghost/\/ghoul rarely recruits vocalists to contribute to his music. 2021 was a remarkably busy year for BONES, marked by five full-length albums including Scraps w/ Lyson, ForbiddenImage w/ catsoup, InLovingMemory, PushingUpDaisies w/ Deergod, and BURDEN, and capped off by “DeathWish,” an ’80s pop-influenced banger by BONES’ alter ego Ricky A Go Go.

With a singular aesthetic that has made fans out of influential figures like A$AP Rocky, and most recently, Justin Bieber, BONES is always working. Stay tuned for much more from the mysterious mastermind in the near future.

Buy/Stream BONES & Drew The Architect – “PackRippedOpen”: https://music.empi.re/packrippedopen

Buy/Stream Withered (prod. by grayera): https://music.empi.re/withered

Please contact Michelle or Kerry for more info.

The Background:

BONES has proven to be one of the most enduring, influential, and creative hip-hop artists to emerge in the early 2010s. The TeamSESH founder has recorded dozens of albums, racking up hundreds of millions of streams and feeding a fanbase that eagerly awaits his every move. Despite remaining fiercely independent and true to his underground roots, his music has permeated the mainstream–in 2015, A$AP Rocky sampled BONES’ song “Dirt” for “Canal St.” (124 million streams), and in recent years, BONES has performed in prime slots at festivals such as Rolling Loud as a member of Seshollowaterboyz (along with Xavier Wülf, Chris Travis, and Eddy Baker).

Links:

official site | instagram | twitter | soundcloud | youtube | spotify

“PackRippedOpen” (w/ Drew The Architect): https://music.empi.re/packrippedopen

Withered (w/ grayera): https://music.empi.re/withered

“Silverado” (w/ ghost/\/ghoul): https://sesh.team/bones/silverado/

“TheOne” (w/ grayera): https://music.empi.re/theone

Ricky A Go Go – “DeathTrain” ft. BONES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyLuK1_QyGo

Scraps (w/ Lyson): https://music.empi.re/scraps

ForbiddenImage (w/ cat soup): https://sesh.team/bones/forbiddenimage/ 

“WhiteBoyRick”: https://youtu.be/I4jh4ojwSoM

“InLovingMemory”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4YcNb2cAI4

InLovingMemory: https://music.empi.re/inlovingmemory

PushingUpDaisies (w/ Deergod): https://music.empi.re/pushingupdaisies

“PopRocks” (w/ Deergod): http://sesh.link/poprocks / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsNZZmkcmPY

BURDEN: http://SESH.LINK/BURDEN