Rap rock band Crazy Town frontman Shifty Shellshock is no more as he died at the age of 49. A throwback picture of him with late Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington has emerged.
Shifty Shellshock With Chester Bennington
As per the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s website, Shellshock, whose birth name was Seth Binzer passed away died at his residence on Monday. A cause has not yet been disclosed.
Shellshock met his Crazy Town co-founder, Bret Mazur, in 1992. They started making music under the name the Brimstone Sluggers. However, by 1999, their moniker was changed to Crazy Town and the band had added members Rust Epique, James Bradley Jr. (aka JBJ), Doug Miller, Adam Goldstein (aka DJ AM) and Antonio Lorenzo “Trouble” Valli. Crazy Town’s debut album, “The Gift of Game,” released in November 1999 and the band supported the Red Hot Chili Peppers on tour shortly after.
Meanwhile, in October 2000, Crazy Town released “Butterfly” as the third single from “The Gift of Game.” The song samples the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Pretty Little Ditty” and features Shellshock’s laid-back rapping style — “Come my lady, come-come my lady, You’re my butterfly, sugar baby” and they blended the two genres. The track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two non-consecutive weeks and became the band’s biggest hit.
As Crazy Town’s second album, “Darkhorse” (2002), failed to evoke the same fervor, the band decided to split. Shellshock then went on to embark on a solo journey, collaborating with Paul Oakenfold on his 2002 hit “Starry Eyed Surprise,” which peaked at No. 41 on the charts. In 2004, Shellshock released his first solo album, “Happy Love Sick,” which found moderate success in Europe.
Shellshock had also been candid about his struggles with addiction and appeared on several reality shows regarding the matter, including two seasons of VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab” and two seasons of its follow-up show “Sober House.” In 2012, he was admitted to the hospital after losing consciousness and fell into a coma before recovering. He was most recently arrested for a DUI in 2022. Shellshock is survived by his three children, Halo, Gage and Phoenix.
