10.18.2021

Album: BONES & cat soup – ForbiddenImage

The Prolific and Popular Underground Rapper Connects with a Producer Signed to His TeamSESH Label, Crafting a 13-Track Effort Inspired by the Dark Edges of the Early Digital Era

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 Album:

Restlessly creative with a massive and growing catalogue, underground rapper BONES inhabits his own musical universe. Connecting with cat soup, one of his TeamSESH producers for a 13-track new effort, BONES shares ForbiddenImage. Over the past week, the Michigan native has been teasing the album on Instagram, posting a series of videos (created and animated by cat soup) that put an eerie twist on early computer games like Myst and RuneScape. Produced in full by cat soup, the project takes sonic inspiration from that early digital aesthetic. Comprised of 6 instrumentals and 7 vocal tracks, on which BONES alternates between his locked-in spitting and compelling singing, ForbiddenImage is available now via TeamSESH/EMPIRE.

ForbiddenImage is not the first time that BONES has teamed up with fellow TeamSESH member and producer, cat soup. The two underground artists have been bouncing beats off of one another since early 2015 when BONES appeared on cat soup’s track, “it’s just a few.” Since then, the two have found inspiration in the company of one another, resulting in multiple singles as well as two albums: Slán in 2016 and Augmented in 2018. Similar to his TeamSESH founder, cat soup has a desire to constantly experiment and cannot be put into one category. His beats include sounds that range from vintage synth percussion to flute-infused melodies. Die hard TeamSESH fans know that ForbiddenImage will not be the last collaboration from BONES and cat soup.

ForbiddenImage is the prolific BONES’s fourth album of 2021. It immediately follows InLovingMemory, released in July, a dark and personal album that featured the recent single “WhiteBoyRick.” In March, BONES released PushingUpDaisies, a full-length collaborative album produced by TeamSESH producer Deergod. Featuring the single “PopRocks,” which earned praise from Stereogum, the album thrives on the impeccable chemistry between producer and rapper. Earlier this year, BONES shared his BURDEN album and released albums recorded under the moniker surrenderdorothy onto DSPs for the first time ever.

With ForbiddenImage, BONES continues to revel in his status as an underground king, and takes the time to show off the talents of a valued collaborator to a bigger audience. Though four albums is more than many artists release in an entire career, don’t be surprised if BONES blesses the world with a fifth album later this year.

Buy/Stream ForbiddenImage: https://sesh.team/bones/forbiddenimage/

Check out BONES’ recent interview in Interview Magazine: https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/bones-gives-a-rare-interview-about-love-identity-and-fatherhood

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).