Shifty Shellshock, who fronted the chart-topping rap-rock band Crazy Town in the early 2000s, has died at the age of 49.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that the rapper, whose real name was Seth Binzer, died at an L.A. residence on Monday. An investigation into his cause of death is underway.
Binzer previously spoke about his battles with addiction and appeared on “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” and “Sober House.” Before reality TV notoriety set in, Crazy Town rocketed to fame when their song “Butterfly” topped the charts in 2000.
Binzer and partner in rhyme Bret “Epic” Mazur initially performed under the name The Brimstone Sluggers in the mid-1990s. They later teamed up with Rust Epique, James Bradley Jr., Adam Goldstein, Doug Miller and Antonio Lorenzo Valli, reinventing the band as Crazy Town. They released their debut album, “The Gift of Game,” in 1999.
Their second album, 2002’s “Darkhorse,” failed to achieve the same level of success, and the band ultimately broke up the following year.
Binzer and Mazur reformed the band in 2007, releasing just one album in 2015.
Outside of Crazy Town, Binzer achieved solo success working with British producer and musician Paul Oakenfold on the Top 10 U.K. hit “Starry Eyed Surprise” in 2002.
His own solo project, 2004’s “Happy Love Sick,” yielded the singles “Slide Along Side” and “Turning Me On.”
In 2010, Binzer’s new group, Shifty and the Big Shots, released their first single, “Save Me.”
But in the years since, it was Binzer’s personal problems that dominated much of the headlines. He was arrested for drug possession in 2012 and said he would seek long-term treatment for addiction. Last year, he got into a fist fight with a bandmate and was arrested for driving drunk days later.
