Seth Binzer, singer of the American rap and rock group Crazy Town, died at the age of 49 this Monday, June 24 at his residence in Los Angeles, according to Variety. The singer was pronounced dead Monday by a Los Angeles medical examiner, but his cause of death has not yet been released.
Better known by his stage name Shifty Shellshock, he was most famous for singing on the hit single “Butterfly”, which became a cult classic after its release in 1999. He co-founded the rap rock group in 1995 in Los Angeles with Bret Mazur under the name “The Brimstone Sluggers” until it became “Crazy Town” in early 1999.
For several years, the duo released songs without experiencing any real success, until the release of their first album entitled “The Gift of Game”, in 1999, which saw the group explode thanks to the title “Butterfly”, which rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Having become an anthem of the 2000s, the title toured the world thanks to its very catchy chorus “Come my lady”, which helped sell the album at more than 1.5 million copies.
After this success, the group released a second album entitled “Darkhouse” in 2002, a rock-oriented opus which was a commercial failure. Shortly after, in 2003, the duo broke up before reforming in 2007 and releasing “The Brimstone Sluggers” in 2015, an album this time more hip-hop oriented.
The singer has spoken publicly about his struggle with addiction on several occasions and has appeared on several reality TV shows to discuss the subject, including on two seasons of “Celebrity Rehab” and “Sober House.” According to those close to him, it was his drug addiction that caused him to lose consciousness and put him into a coma in 2012, reports TMZ.