Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of late-1990s rap-rock band Crazy Town known for the hit song “Butterfly,” whose legal name was Seth Binzer, died at his home in Los Angeles on Thursday. He was 49.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner confirmed his death, the cause of which was still being investigated. Mr. Binzer was open about his struggles with substance abuse. He appeared on two seasons of the VH1 series “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” in 2008 and also on the spinoff series “Sober House” from 2009 to 2010.
Seth Binzer was born on Aug. 23, 1974, in Los Angeles and was raised in Southern California. He formed Crazy Town with Bret Mazur, known as Epic, in 1995, but the band was initially known as the Brimstone Sluggers. The idea to form what became known as Crazy Town was sparked when the two began writing letters to each other from rehabilitation clinics, according to the band’s Spotify biography.
Crazy Town rose to prominence after the band released its debut album, “The Gift of Game,” in 1999. In 2001, the record reached No. 9 on the Billboard album chart ranking the most popular albums, in large part because of the success of “Butterfly.” The song, which Rolling Stone magazine described as “a sweetly floating ballad that’s atypical for these hard-rocking B-boys,” gained wide acclaim, holding the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 ranking for two weeks.
In 1999, the band added Doug Miller, known as Faydoedeelay; Charles Lopez, known as Rust Epique; Anthony Valli, known as Trouble Valli; Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM; and James Bradley Jr., known as JBJ. The group broke up in 2003.
The band went through a turbulent few years during its short existence.
In late April, Mr. Binzer posted about his sobriety on Instagram. “The one I need to love more, instead of fight with,” he wrote, “is myself.”
A complete obituary will follow.