Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of Crazy Town – best known for songs “Toxic” and “Butterfly” – has died at the age of 49. No cause has yet been released.
Shifty, whose real name is Seth Binzer, formed Crazy Town with Bret “Epic” Mauzer in the ‘90s, with the band releasing their debut album, The Gift of Game, in 1999. That album, backed by the aforementioned singles, in addition to “Revolving Door”, would hit #9 in the US, going Platinum. Famed DJ Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein also worked the turntables on the album. Goldstein died in 2009.
A recent social media post has since been flooded with condolences from fans in the wake of Binzer’s death.
But Crazy Town would never have such a smash album – or song – again. Their second album, 2002’s Darkhorse, would peak at #120 on the Billboard charts. After failing to have a hit as big as “Butterfly”, Crazy Town went on hiatus in 2003. The following year, guitarist Charles “Rust Epique” Lopez died at the age of 36. In 2015, Crazy Town released their third and what would be their final album, The Brimstone Sluggers. Two years later, Mauzer announced his departure from Crazy Town. The band would later be reformed as Crazy Town X.
As for Shifty himself, in 2004, he released his only solo album, Happy Love Sick, which featured a song with Paul Oakenfold called “Starry Eyed Surprise”, which went hit #13 on the Top 40.
Binzer had been open about his struggles with addiction, even appearing on Celebrity Rehab and Sober House. Binzer had been arrested multiple times for various incidents, including a 2012 drug possession case. On that moment, Binzer stated, “I would like to sincerely apologize to the parties involved…I feel very bad for those who I have offended and those who have endured this situation.” In 2022, Binzer was arrested for a DUI.
While a short-lived blip, Crazy Town no doubt is still remembered for “Butterfly” and their place in the rap-rock fad of the late ‘90s and early 2000s.
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