How many records does that make for BONES now, I mean we have to be well into the hundreds since his first initial inception from the grave. From the foundations of forming TeamSESH which has become an underground hip-hop army at this point, InLovingMemory gives one more insight into the dead prince of rhyme.

With his third drop of 2021, InLovingMemory is not just a pretty ringing name; BONES slides back into these moments where his mixtape era of his classics like Paid Programming, Skinny, Cracker, or even his work with Rotten. In a way 2014-2015 was a golden era for BONES and pulling into those selected sounds is a thrill as hair stands on the neck and the blade seems closer than ever.

Especially on the VHS cracking instrumentation of the self-titled track, “InLovingMemory” which takes an ethereal summoning from the tomb as support while a chilling tonality creeps into the ear. With headphones on, BONES is able to slide through the speakers as the fog creeps across the bedroom floor, engulfing the room eventually as he stands a figure in all black surrounded by silver chains.

The production from greaf is outstanding and perfectly encapsulates those cellar doors being ripped off as the humanization of the grim reaper walks in. Describing, “Walk up in your spot and watch me turn it to a grave, put them drugs up in my face and watch me turn into a slave… Ear to ear, I’m who they fear, they know I bloody up the place. Grip that pistol with precision, Anne Nicole, yeah all my bitches dead, dead.” What’s more precise, the skeletal hand in the face pulling the audience toward the earth, or the delivery from BONES on the following track, “GoHardHuh?”

He uses production from stereoRYZE which taps back to a long-standing partnership since Banshee in 2015. While the track is only a minute and 16 seconds, “GoHardHuh” sits upon references to Goyard and Buffy The Vampire Slayer that are glorious and cut directly to the dirt which were covered by the rivers somewhere lost in the deep backwoods of Michigan.

Almost like a symphony of the night, the work from stereoRYZE becomes this bounce on the 808s over a cathedral of keys where Alucard would be jealous.  Illustrating, “Skinny pimp up in your house, shotgun rob sum’ if you think you know what I’m about. I’m a slayer at the function, she got with the prince like Buffy.” While BONES seems to be better suited while dipped in despair, later pieces like “IThinkIWillBeOk” which features more sung vocals from BONES are actually fairly angelic and flaunt his ambidextrous nature with the voice.

Swapping from rapping to singing, BONES is not a stranger to it but to see “IThinkIWillBeOk” thrive so well on a greaf beat is reminiscent of SurrenderDorothy which quickly captured those emotions of sunlight creeping through the window. “IThinkIWillBeOk” is similar with mostly an acoustic instrumental on guitar and some fairly basic synthetic percussion snaps on the snare to fit the frame.

BONES teeters between past personas and a forward progression which ultimately, interferes with the mind and becomes almost hypnotizing to the ears. As the nervous system adjusts forward to the cracks and hiss of vinyl again, InLovingMemory is fit for a funeral.

Listen To InLovingMemory Here!!! – Soundcloud/Spotify/iTunes