All About Shifty Shellshock and Crazy Town’s Career, Music and Tours [Video]

Versions of this story previously ran in 2001 issues of Teen PEOPLE and PEOPLE magazines. Crazy Town frontman Shifty Shellshock was found dead at home in Los Angeles on June 24, 2024, at the age of 49.

Two singles into their November 1999 debut, The Gift of Game, Crazy Town still hadn’t scored a hit. Then that December the Hollywood-based rap-rockers released the video for “Butterfly,” an ode to vocalist Shifty Shellshock‘s now ex-girlfriend Cynthia, who appeared in the clip.

“It’s not too sappy,” said Shifty, then 26, of the song. “She loves it.” (Even Shaggy told Teen PEOPLE it was “the flyest video on MTV.)

She wasn’t the only one: It made inroads with MTV and top-40 radio, helping the album go platinum. “This is where the real work begins,” said bandmate Epic. “This is what we asked for.”

Crazy Town’s dramatic history dates back to 1992, when struggling rapper Shifty (real name: Seth Binzer) met Bret “Epic” Mazur, a DJ-producer and son of …