Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Marc Sauvage
- Role, Music correspondent
Shifty Shellshock, the frontman of rap-rock group Crazy Town, has died at the age of 49.
The musician was best known for the 2001 single Butterfly, which was a number one hit in the US and reached number three in the UK.
Born Seth Binzer, he founded Crazy Town in 1995 and later found success with DJ Paul Oakenfold on the club track Starry Eyed Surprise.
However, he struggled with addiction throughout his life, addressing his condition on reality shows such as Celebrity Rehab and its follow-up, Sober House.
He was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on Monday June 24. The cause of death has not yet been revealed.
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Born in 1974, Binzer grew up in the world of music.
His father Rollin Binzer directed the concert film Ladies And Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones in 1973 and designed album covers for Chess Records; while her mother, Leslie Brooks, was a model.
He was inspired to rap after discovering the Beastie Boys’ album Licensed to Ill and formed Crazy Town after meeting Bret “Epic” Mazur at a recording session in the early 1990s.
Envisioned as a hip-hop group with a full instrumental backing band, they didn’t get off to a great start.
The first two singles from their debut album The Gift Of The Game failed to chart and the band withdrew from the Ozzfest festival in 2000, after Binzer was arrested for throwing a chair out a window while he was drunk.
However, the album also contained Butterfly – a laid-back love song, which sampled a riff from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ instrumental Pretty Little Ditty.
Released in 2001, it became an instant hit, thanks in large part to Binzer’s indelible, catchy chorus: “Come my lady / Come, come my lady / You are my butterfly / Sugar, baby“.
“Women friendly rap”
He stated that the song was written as a counterpoint to the more chauvinistic lyrics he had previously produced.
“We were writing songs like Lollipop Porn when there was no girlfriend, and all of a sudden I found myself in this relationship,” he recalled in Fred Bronson’s Billboard Book Of Number One Hits .
“I was in love and she was asking me, ‘What’s going on with all these words? Is that how you are?’
“So that gave me the idea to write a song for her. Instead of writing a macho, masculine song, I was going to write something sweet and nice for a girl I cared about.”
However, the band was hesitant to release the track as a single, as they feared it would end up defining them.
“A song like Butterfly is a no-brainer,” Binzer said. “Everyone seems to love it, no matter how tough they are.
“It’s very radio friendly, the female audience loves it and at the same time I think we’ve kept our integrity.”
His prediction turned out to be correct. Crazy Town failed to match the success of its biggest hit. The next single, Revolving Door, remained at number 23 in the UK, after which they never again troubled the charts.
Image source, Getty Images
Crazy Town disbanded in 2002 after disappointing sales for their second album, Darkhorse.
Binzer later pursued a solo career, releasing a solo album, Happy Love Sick, which met with moderate success in Europe.
During this period he also released Starry Eyed Surprise, which reached number six in the UK.
He reunited with Mazur for another Crazy Town album, The Brimstone Sluggers, in August 2015 before Mazur left for good, and Binzer renamed the group Crazy Town X.
The musician has been open about his problems with drugs and alcohol and has spoken about his time in prison as a young man, following incidents including assaults with a gun, as well as selling drugs. drug.
In 2012, he was arrested for domestic violence and cocaine possession. The same year, he was also taken to hospital after losing consciousness and falling into a coma before recovering.
He was arrested for driving under the influence in 2022; and was kicked off a Nu Metal tour last year after a concert in South Carolina ended in a bloody on-camera brawl with bandmate Bobby Reeves.
According to Stereogum, the couple later reconciled and Crazy Town played concerts with Binzer as late as May 2024.
The musician is survived by his three children, Halo, Gage and Phoenix.
Gn entert
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