Shifty Shellshock, the frontman of Crazy Town, shared a cryptic post before his death.
According to the Daily Mail, the 49-year-old musician, whose birth name was Seth Binzer, passed away on June 24. The cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
Crazy Town, formed in 1995 by Shellshock and fellow rapper Bret “Epic” Mazur, included other members like DJ Rick One, Mark White, Adam Bravin, and Charles Lopez. The band gained fame with their 1999 hit song “Butterfly,” which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for two nonconsecutive weeks.
Before his death, Shellshock’s final social media post on April 28 featured a picture of someone in a black top and black balaclava, surrounded by others dressed similarly but in white. The text on the photo read: “Real is real, fake is everywhere,” and Shellshock added the ominous caption: “To the ones who stay even when I try my hardest to scare them away.”
Fans have since flooded the post with condolences. One user wrote, “I’ll never forget you <3 can’t believe you’re gone. RIP fly high angel,” while another said, “Rest in peace man, I hope you’re finally at peace. Thank you for the music and all our chats over the years! I’ll miss you man!” Another added, “Rock in Paradise, my friend.”
Crazy Town disbanded in 2003 but reunited four years later, releasing their third album, The Brimstone Sluggers, in 2015. After Mazur’s departure, Shellshock rebranded the band as Crazy Town X in 2017.
Throughout his career, Shellshock was open about his struggles with addiction. He appeared on Celebrity Rehab twice and its follow-up show, Sober House, two times.
In March, the “Revolving Door” singer spoke about how substance abuse affected his career on The Punk Rock MBA. “I think I was too wild to stick around for a long time,” he said. “I managed to live through a lot of crazy shit, and got to the point where I was like, ‘I’d like to live.’ That’s a whole new way of life that you have to slowly teach yourself. To do it correctly, you’ve got to do more than just want it. Every day now is just about finding inner peace and taking care of yourself.”
Shellshock is survived by his son Halo, whom he had with his first wife Melissa Clark. They married in 2002 and divorced in 2011. He also has two more sons, Gage and Phoenix, with different mothers.
Our thoughts are with Shellshock’s family and friends during this difficult time.
