Crazy Town’s “Butterfly” singer dies at 49

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Shifty Shellshock, the frontman of the rap rock band Crazy Town, has died at the age of 49, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner. The musician died at home on Monday (June 24) and the cause of death is still under investigation.

Shellshock was born Seth Binzer on August 23, 1974. He met Crazy Town co-founder Bret Mazer in 1992 and the band gained other members including Adam Goldstein (better known as DJ AM, who died of an accidental overdose in 2009), Rust Epique, Antonio Lorenzo Valli, James Bradley Jr. and others. The band released their debut album The gift of the game in November 1999. It peaked at number 9 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart dated March 3, 2001, and remained on the list for 34 weeks.

The set’s first two singles, “Toxic” and “Darkside,” failed to chart, but Crazy Town was right at the third try. “Butterfly” — which sampled the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Pretty Little Ditty” — was released as the album’s third single in October 2000 and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed at the top spot for two weeks with its catchy chorus: “Come my lady, come come my lady / You’re my butterfly, sugar baby / Come my lady, you’re my pretty baby / I’ll make your legs shake, you make me go crazy.”

The song stayed in the charts for 23 weeks and is still the group’s biggest hit. (The song made Billboard‘s list of one-hit wonders of the 2000s in 2014; the band failed to place another song on that list throughout their career.)

Second album Dark Horse was released in November 2002 and peaked at number 120. It did not reach any higher position and fell off the charts after a week. The band broke up shortly after.

Binzer spoke openly about his struggle with drug abuse. He appeared on VH1 Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008, and VH1’s Sober House from 2009 to 2010.

He leaves behind his children Halo, Gage and Phoenix.