Swimming in Sorrow

American rapper, singer and record producer Malcolm James McCormick, better known as Mac Miller, was found dead in his San Fernando Valley home at the age of 26 on Friday, September 7, 2018. According to The Complex, Mac Miller was a self-taught musician born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He began piano lessons at the age of 6 and started getting into hip-hop at 14.

According to Rolling Stone Magazine, Miller signed with Rostrum Records in 2010 where he recorded his debut album Blue Slide Park. It was released in November of 2011 and debuted #1 on all Billboard charts. During his Macadellic tour, Miller became addicted to a narcotic opioid combination of codeine and promethazine, also known as “lean”, to manage the stress he was enduring. 

MTV reported that Miller quit drinking in late 2012 before his shooting of reality tv show Mac-Miller and The Most Dope Family. It aired in Feb. 2013 on MTV 2 and documented Miller’s music-making process. In 2013, Miller became more well known and launched his own record label, REMember. In 2014 he signed REMember with Warner Bros. Records.

Miller later produced music for artists like Vince Staples, SZA, and Riff Raff.  Around May 2018 Miller was arrested for a DUI and taken into custody. Miller’s girlfriend of 2 years, well-known pop artist Ariana Grande, broke up with him due to his drug addiction. The heart-break allegedly perpetuated Miller’s addiction. Miller expressed these emotions along with others in his most recent album Swimming, which was released before his passing. 

It was later confirmed that Miller’s death was caused by cardiac arrest due to grit overdose. Miller had his services at the Hollywood Cemetery where he was buried. His autopsy results are yet to be announced.