Bones (rapper)
Bones, born Elmo Kennedy O'Connor on January 11, 1994, in Muir Beach, California, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter who grew up in Howell, Michigan. He began making music at nine, releasing his first online tracks in 2010 under the name Th@ Kid. He later moved to Los Angeles, changed his stage name to Bones in 2012, and issued his self-titled debut album that year.
He founded the TeamSESH collective and helped form the Seshollowaterboyz with Xavier Wulf, Chris Travis and Eddy Baker. He also created side projects surrenderdorothy (a more acoustic/emo style with producer Greaf) and Oregontrail, and started a new persona, Ricky A Go Go, in 2016. Bones is known for pioneering emo rap and trap metal, and his music blends cloud rap, horrorcore, and other underground hip-hop styles. He has released more than 100 albums, mixtapes, and EPs since 2010.
Key milestones include the controversial 2014 albums TeenWitch and Garbage, which drew major media attention. He headlined his first sold-out show at the House of Blues in 2015, opened for Shlohmo, and performed a remix of his song Dirt with ASAP Rocky on Canal St; a Jimmy Kimmel Live! performance of Canal St. was cut from the TV broadcast. He released many projects between 2015 and 2017, and 2018 marked his first European tour, the Deadboy Tour.
Bones moved to Glendale, California in 2017. He is married to Samantha Strysko (since 2023) and has a son named Howl (born 2019). His mother is Rachel Culp, his father Danny O'Connor, and his grandfather was actor Robert Culp. He has often been described as a pioneer of emo rap and cloud rap, with influences ranging from Nas and Marvin Gaye to Joni Mitchell.
In 2024, there were lineup changes in Seshollowaterboyz, with Xavier Wulf briefly leaving the group. Bones and Wulf later reunited for performances, including a show with Robb Bank$, and Bones was added back to the Loserville Tour.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:15 (CET).