Bones was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on April 2, 1980, and raised in the small community of Mountain Pine, Arkansas. He has said his mother became pregnant with him at age 15, when his father was 17. He was raised by his mother and maternal grandmother. His biological father was with him until the age of five, but then left the family. Bones began dreaming of a radio career around the age of 5. His mother died at age 49 after battling addiction problems in 2014. He grew up poor, and often viewed radio as a way of escaping poverty. Bones began his radio career at age 17 at the campus station of Henderson State University, KSWH-FM "The Pulse". He graduated with a B.A. in Radio/Television from Henderson in 2002.
