Butterfly (Crazy Town song)


"Butterfly" is a song by American rap rock band Crazy Town. It gained mainstream popularity after being released in November 2000 as the third single from their debut album The Gift of Game. The song reached number one in eight countries, including the band's native United States. The song is based on a sample of "Pretty Little Ditty" from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 1989 album Mother's Milk.

Composition

"Butterfly" was described by George Lang of the Oklahoman as a "a deft blend of hip-hop and rock". Alan di Perna of Guitar World magazine noted Crazy Town were predominantly a rap-metal group, with their music containing the "streetwise guitar rage" of the genre combined with "a dash of Eighties alternative melodicism" and declared the song as a "hip-hop flavored ballad" This was echoed by Tim Kenneally of Spin who noted that the band avoided "descending into rap-metal's typical bitch-done-me-wrong jeremiads"; he declared it a sappy hip-hop love song. Michael Steele, a music director of the pop radio station KIIS-FM, noted the song's crossover appeal in an interview in the Los Angeles Times, declaring that among rap-rock songs, "Butterfly" was "the one that completely crossed over from the rap-rock genre."

Personnel

It was named the 34th "Most Awesomely Bad Song Ever" by VH1. It was also rated number 3 on Billboard's chart for one-hit wonders of the 2000s, compiled in 2009.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Honey, shows the band in a fantastical forest full of butterflies. Shifty Shellshock and Epic Mazur sing praises to two women with butterfly wings. At one point in the video, Shifty's star-shaped tattoos fly off into the air.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications