Crazy Town released The Gift Of Game in the United States on November 9, 1999, through Columbia Records. Before “Butterfly” broke through in 2001, their debut introduced an act that had expanded from a hip-hop duo into a seven-piece band. That growth shaped the record, from its layered guitars to its collaborations with rappers.
Seth “Shifty Shellshock” Binzer and Bret “Epic” Mazur began by making recordings together, then found the musicians who could take that material onstage. Speaking to Ink 19 in June 2000, Binzer explained that the pair had produced a demo before assembling the full group. Offers from record companies prompted them to start rehearsing with players they knew, working through several lineup changes. The music’s priorities remained clear to him: “I come from a hip hop background.” Guitars expanded what the group could do while its two vocalists retained their rap influences.
That expansion came with practical demands. Mazur told Wolfshead in December 1999 that two guitarists were necessary to reproduce the contrasting heavy and lead parts live. For the album, he and Binzer also wanted someone who could assess their work while they concentrated on performing. Josh Abraham helped refine the guitar sounds and suggest changes to arrangements that were already largely mapped out. Mazur admitted that stepping back was difficult, but the additional producer gave the recording an outside perspective.
The album’s guests grew out of personal connections, too. In the same interview, Mazur recalled that Mad Lion played their collaboration “Hollywood Babylon” for KRS-One, who then wanted to record with Crazy Town. That led to his appearance on “B-Boy 2000.” Binzer described the invitation as something they wouldn’t have thought to ask for themselves. Alongside those collaborations, the band included a version of Tha Alkaholiks’ “Only When I’m Drunk,” keeping its hip-hop interests audible throughout the record.
“Butterfly” gave that approach a particularly melodic outlet. Its repeating guitar sample came from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Pretty Little Ditty,” an instrumental on Mother’s Milk. The borrowed passage became the foundation for a love song, giving the two vocalists a gentler setting than the album’s more abrasive material.
The order in which listeners encountered the record was deliberate. “Toxic” and “Darkside” were its first two singles, and neither reached the Billboard charts. Columbia’s February 2001 advertisement in Billboard said “Butterfly” had been designated the third single from the beginning. By then, the company was celebrating the album’s platinum status and crediting sustained touring and the video’s MTV exposure alongside the song’s radio reach. The breakthrough was extending the life of a record that had already been in stores through an entire calendar year.
The Gift Of Game reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 in 2001. “Butterfly” reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 that March and spent two weeks at the top, turning a song held back during the album’s early promotion into the release’s crossover hit.
