Mac Miller was an up-and-coming rap artist who died of a sudden drug overdose in 2018. The artist is famous for his tracks: Self Care, Dang!, My Favorite Part, etc. In addition to writing music, he also produced famous artists: K, J. Cole, Earl Sweatshirt, Lil B and Tyler, The Creator.
Childhood and youth Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick is the real name of the popular rap artist. The artist was born on January 19, 1992 in the American city of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania). The boy spent most of his childhood in the suburban area of Point Breeze. His mother was a photographer and his father was an architect. The performer also had a brother named Miller McCormick.
The artist's parents are of different religions. His father is a Christian while his mother is Jewish. They decided to raise their son as a Jew, so the boy underwent the traditional bar mitzvah ceremony. At a conscious age, he began to celebrate important Jewish holidays, to keep 10 days of repentance. Malcolm has always been proud of his religion, and in response, Drake even said about himself that he was "the coolest Jewish rapper."
From the age of 6, he began attending a preparatory class at Winchester Thurston School. The boy later attended Taylor Allderdice High School. From an early age, Malcolm was interested in creativity, so he independently mastered various musical instruments. The performer knew how to play the piano, regular guitar and bass guitar, as well as drums.
As a child, Mac Miller had no idea what he wanted to be. However, closer to the age of 15, he was seriously interested in rap. Then he focused on building a career. In one of the interviews, the performer admitted that, like any teenager, he was often fond of sports or parties. When he realized the benefits of hip-hop, Malcolm began to treat his new hobby as a full-time job.
Mac Miller's musical career
The performer began recording his first compositions at the age of 14. For publication, he used the stage name EZ Mac. Already at the age of 15, he released a mixtape, which he called But My Mackin'Ain't Easy. Over the next two years, Malcolm released two more mixtapes, after which Rostrum Records offered him a collaboration. As a 17-year-old teenager, he took part in the Rhyme Calisthenics battle. There, the novice artist managed to reach the final.
Benjamin Greenberg (President of the company) gave advice to the aspiring performer in writing music. But he did not take an active part in the "promotion". He showed his interest when Mac Miller started working on a KIDS album. Although the artist was offered cooperation by other recording studios, he did not leave the Rostrum Records label. The main reasons are the location in Pittsburgh, as well as the association of the company with the popular rapper Wiz Khalifa.
The performer released his work KIDS in 2010 under the name Mac Miller. When writing tracks, he was inspired by the movie "Kids" from the English director Larry Clark. Upon release, the mixtape received positive reviews. Greenberg described him as "the maturation of the artist in the musical quality of the sound." That same year, Malcolm embarked on the worldwide Incredibly Dope Tour.
Increasing popularity of Mac Miller
The year 2011 was remembered for the release of Blue Slide Park, the album took 1st position on the Billboard 200. Although critics spoke ambiguously about it and called it "impenetrable", Miller's audience liked the work very much. In the first week alone, more than 145 copies were sold, and 25 people made pre-orders.
In 2013, the second studio work Watching Movies With the Sound Off was released. For a long time she occupied the 2nd position in the Billboard 200 hit parade. In 2014, the artist decided to stop working with the Rostrum Records label. Mack signed a $10 million deal with Warner Bros. records.
On the new label in 2015, the artist recorded the 17-track album GO:OD AM. In 2016, another work by The Divine Feminine was released. It featured collaborations with his girlfriend Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, Ty Dolla Sign, and more.
The last album released during Miller's lifetime was Swimming (2018). It consisted of 13 tracks in which the artist shared his experiences. The songs show the pessimistic attitude of the artist due to the breakup with Ariana Grande and drug use.
Drug addiction and the death of Mac Miller
The artist's problems with banned substances began in 2012. He was then on the Macadelic Tour and was under considerable stress due to constant performances and moving. To relax, Malcolm took the drug "Purple Drink" (a combination of codeine with promethazine).
The performer struggled with substance addiction for a very long time. He had breakdowns from time to time. In 2016, Mac Miller began working with a sobriety coach and working out at the gym. According to the environment, recently Malcolm had the best physical and psychological condition.
On September 7, 2018, the manager arrived at Miller's home in Los Angeles and found the artist immobilized there. He immediately called 911, reporting cardiac arrest. Forensic experts performed an autopsy and announced the cause of death to the relatives, but they decided not to disclose it. A little later, from a statement from the coroner's office in Los Angeles, it became known that the performer died from mixing alcoholic beverages, cocaine and fentanyl.
His ex-girlfriend Ariana Grande admitted in an interview that Malcolm started using drugs again. At the time of his death, the artist was 26 years old. The performer was buried in a cemetery in Pittsburgh in accordance with Jewish traditions. In 2020, Mac Miller's family released an album of unreleased tracks in his memory called Circles.
