Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of the rap rock group Crazy Town, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 49.
Shellshock, whose real name was Seth Binzer, died at his home in Los Angeles County on Monday, Variety reported, citing the Los Angeles County Department of the Medical Examiner. His cause of death was not immediately shared.
Shellshock’s publicist, Kelly Springer, confirmed his death to CNN, calling him “a courageous fighter” and saying that he was “full of talent, light, compassion, love and grace.”
“He will be missed by so many,” she said. “He was one of those souls that was magnetic. We will miss you Seth. We are heart broken. Thank you for your talents and contributions to our music industry. We were all blessed to have had you.”
Shellshock started Crazy Town in the 1990s with his best friend Bret Mazur, KTTV reported. The band’s 2000 single “Butterfly” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks and became a global hit.
Still, the group struggled to deal with turnover and with Shellshock’s substance abuse, KNBC reported. He opened up about his drug use in the 2008 season of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” and the 2009 and 2010 seasons of “Sober House.”
During a 2023 appearance on the Punk Rock MBA podcast, Shellshock said he was working on new music.
“Every day now is just about finding inner peace and taking care of myself and mending relationships with the people I would hide from when I was too loaded or too into my chaos,” he said.
“I have like, a really good group of people around me and, you know, I’m being creative and just kind of … (at) a time where I’m looking back at all the craziness that I made it through and just — I’m grateful to be here. I’m grateful to spend time with my children and fix the relationships that I kind of abused.”
Shellshock is survived by his three children, Halo, Gage and Phoenix, Variety reported.