Rapper Mac Miller, 26, has reportedly died of a drug overdose, according to TMZ.
Law enforcement officials are reported to have responded to an emergency call at 11:50 a.m., where they found Mac Miller and pronounced him dead at the scene.
Malcolm James McCormick of Pittsburgh began his career on a high when his first studio album, “Blue Side Park,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2011.
With the immediate fame and success came a number of issues, which he later said caused him to turn to drugs.
The rapper had been battling substance abuse for a number of years. Last May, Miller received a DUI after wrecking his Mercedes-Benz G-Class by running it into a utility pole. In an article published by Vulture, Craig Jenkins wrote, “He’s not above the mistakes and indulgences,” attributing it largely to Miller’s candidness regarding his past drug abuse problems, resulting in a life which is in “constant shadows of the question of his well-being.”
Despite the infamy of his struggles, Miller — unlike a number of other artists — never promoted substance abuse.
“I’d rather be the corny white rapper than the drugged-out mess who can’t even get out of his house,” Miller said during a 2016 documentary with Fader. “Overdosing is just not cool. There’s no legendary romance. You don’t go down in history because you overdose. You just die.”
In response to news of the rapper’s death, Jenkins tweeted, “I JUST FUCKING TALKED TO HIM YESTERDAY.”
The rapper released his final album, “Swimming,” this past August. It reached at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 200.
Rumors of a collaboration between Miller and rapper Post-Malone have led to grief and disappointment among fans.
“Just expecting something to come out soon but instead I was crying a little because its such a loss,” said SF State student Jessica De La Torre. “I just feel like the whole situation of mental illness and substance abuse are overlooked. But when an artist actually dies – when people die, mental health is a real thing. Mental health is real and it doesn’t matter if you’re rich, famous or poor.”
The scope and impact an individual has on another person (especially an artist) can never accurately be measured, nor should they be easily dismissed.
“I actually listened to him when I first moved here,” said Sohrab Sheibani, a senior business administration major at SF State from Iran. “His songs were kinda – I dunno, kept me wanting to stay here in America. It made me believe that I could make it, too.”
